


A Groovy Kind of Love

by burnthisout



Series: A Groovy Kind of Love [1]
Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, New Girl au, Rowaelin AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:28:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 76,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burnthisout/pseuds/burnthisout
Summary: But, she needed to not mess this up, which looking at Rowan like she was tonight might very well do. He wasn’t looking at her the same way. Probably.She whirled, leaving her own glass on the side and marched into her bedroom, the one opposite Rowan’s. But she wasn’t thinking about that, she needed this loft to work out.And they were roommates! A New Girl inspired Rowaelin fic.
Relationships: Aedion Ashryver/Lysandra, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn, Elide Lochan/Lorcan Salvaterre
Series: A Groovy Kind of Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978501
Comments: 125
Kudos: 180





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is also posted on tumblr and you can find me at seasonofthewicth  
> 

Aelin looked up from her phone screen to the large brick building in front of her. Squinting in the sunlight, she took in the old warehouse with its rustic, evenly spaced square windows.

She looked back down to her phone, her text conversation with her cousin Aedion left open. Loft 4D, his message read. She tried the entrance to the building, but the rusty door wouldn’t budge.

Sighing, she tapped call on Aedion’s contact.

“Hello?” His voice came through the tinny speakers of her phone.

“Hey Aedion, it’s Aelin. I think I’m outside.” She peered through the glass of the door, looking for any sign of the golden haired man.

“Oh, right, one second,” The phone clicked as the call ended. She pulled her phone away from her ear, staring at it puzzledly.

“Aelin!”

As she reopened her phone to make the call again the shout rang out from above and she squinted back up at the building to a now open window a few floors up. Aedion peered out of the window waving enthusiastically at her.

“We’ll buzz you up now, fourth floor.”

She raised a thumb towards him and stepped inside when she heard the click of the door.

She hadn’t seen Aedion in a few months, the last time being at a family event hosted by one of the endless Ashryver relatives, but they were friendly enough for cousins. She hadn’t expected his message the day before, offering her the spare room in his loft, but she supposed her mother must have let slip the situation Aelin was in and Aedion was generous enough to extend the offer.

The situation Aelin was in was the result of her cheating, now ex-boyfriend Arobynn. He had been away travelling for a few months and Aelin had prepared for his return by slipping into something silky and small and setting herself up in their house to surprise him.

She hadn’t prepared for the short, curvy woman he had returned with.

Not thirty minutes later Aelin had been in a cab, cursing Arobynn to hell. Most of her belongings were shoved in two duffel bags on the seat next to her as she made her way to her best friend Lysandra’s apartment, ultimately homeless.

As the elevator pulled to the fourth floor, Aelin took in her reflection of the elevator door. She smoothed her hair behind her ears, then untucked it again. It was only Aedion and his roommates, and she just needed a room.

She’d known a couple of Aedion’s roommates from previous birthday events of his own, but not greatly. She scowled briefly at the thought of Lorcan, the grumpy, giant of a man, who her previous interactions with had all ended with snarled insults, but it was harmless. At least to her, she couldn’t begin to understand what went through the raven-haired man’s mind.

She stepped out of the elevator to the hallway just as the door to loft 4D was pulled open. The first thing she spotted were the swirling lines of an elegant tattoo, creeping up the arm holding the door handle.

Rowan Whitethorn, Aedion’s college roommate who she had met maybe once or twice, held the door open, smiling at her slightly. Her eyes tracked up his muscular arms to the broad planes of his chest and shoulders stretching the plaid shirt he wore tightly. His tanned skin peeked out from the collar of the shirt setting off his silver hair nicely. She swallowed before opened her mouth.

“Hey,” She started. “Thanks for having me.”

“Not a problem,” His voice was low and gravelly, but he cleared his throat as he lifted his arm, stretching behind himself into the loft beyond. “Come in, the others are in the living room.”

She smiled and ducked past him through the doorway into the short hallway of the apartment. She heard Rowan shut the door but was spotted by Aedion who grinned as he bounded over from the open living area, a mug of coffee gripped tightly in his hand.

“Aelin! Glad you’re here, how you doing?” He swept her into a tight hug but drew back as he seemed to realise his mistake. His face twisted awkwardly as he leaned back. “Apart from, you know…” He trailed off releasing her fully.

“Don’t,” She groaned but laughed it off shaking her head and turned to smile at the others in the room.

Lorcan was sat on the end of the brown leather couch, his dark hair hanging over his shoulders, arms crossed, and legs stretched out in front of him. He offered her a brief nod as Aedion reintroduced them.

“Lorcan, you know, and of course Rowan.”

The two men acknowledged their introductions, but her attention was drawn to the only male she hadn’t already met.

In the space next to Lorcan, a blonde man with golden skin dressed in grey sweatpants and a loose t-shirt reclined into the sofa, both arms draped along the back. He offered her a wide smile and a hand to shake in greeting.

“I don’t think you’ve met Fenrys.” Aedion smiled widely, taking his seat next to the new introduction, followed by Rowan.

“Great to meet you,” Fenrys offered taking her hand in his own.

She shook Fenrys’ hand with a smile and crossed the room to the remaining seat, a single chair facing the couch. She smoothed her skirt down as she sat, readying herself for the inquisition.

—–

When Vaughan moved out of the loft to move cross-country with his girlfriend, Rowan assumed they would use the spare room as maybe a home office for Aedion, or a work-out space for Fenrys. His recent obsession with training them all to practice his coaching for his job at the nearby high school wasn’t going down well so far in the oddly shaped space remaining in the living area. But, Rowan hadn’t objected when Aedion asked them if he could offer it to his cousin who was in need of a room.

Rowan had been friends with Aedion since their first year of college and had lived with him for most of the eight years since then. Their friendship was easy, despite a rocky start, since the collision of Aedion’s bubbly personality and Rowan’s quiet demeanour had initially resulted in a stiff acquaintanceship until an incident in their freshman year had led Rowan to view the other male as more of a brother. Not that he would ever admit it.

The first time he had met Aedion’s cousin, Aelin, he was a shy, nineteen-year-old and Aedion had introduced them at his own nineteenth birthday party thrown at his parents’ home in Terrasen. He remembered stammering his hello to eighteen-year-old Aelin, stunned by her bright blue eyes and golden hair that matched Aedion’s.

He hadn’t spoken much to her that first time, he’d been nervous and intimidated by the confident, beautiful young woman, but he had met her a few more times since and they had been cordial each time in their brief exchanges.

He didn’t mind a new roommate, especially when it would mean his own rent wouldn’t increase. Not that he would struggle to cover the increase, with the extra shifts he had been picking up at the bar since the break-up with Lyria six months ago.

Lyria. His on-again-off-again girlfriend of three years. They had finally called it off-again for good recently and he considered himself to be doing well in not texting her again for the first time. This break-up felt different to the previous ones.

As he took his seat next to Aedion he observed the girl sitting opposite them all. She had definitely matured in the years since he had last seen her, more a woman than a girl now. Her golden hair fell in soft waves to her middle, and her body had settled into its gentle curves from the slimness of her teens when they had first met. The loose dress she wore fit the muggy Adarlan summer air, as well as bringing out the gold ring in her blue eyes.

“So,” Aedion began, “We know you need a room. Do you have any, uh, questions for us?”

Rowan smoothed his hands down his jeans, waiting for the list of questions he was sure Aelin would have.

“Um,” She started, unsure, “The bathroom. Is there only one? What’s the deal on that?”

Rowan heard Lorcan snort and felt the shaking of Fenrys’ laugh beside him. The bathroom rota, devised by Aedion, sick of being late for work when one of the others took too long, had been a point of contention in the loft since its introduction a year ago. It was mostly followed now, with only minor complaints.

They each had twenty minutes allocated from six-thirty in the morning, but Rowan’s were often up for grabs. He didn’t need them that early when most days he got back from the bar past midnight and didn’t wake up until the others had all left for work.

He knew Aelin was a teacher, like Fenrys, so maybe she could take his allocation. It seemed Aedion was on the same wavelength.

“There’s a schedule,” He said with an almost imperceptible level of embarrassment, but Aelin seemed to hear it too as the corner of her mouth drew up in a teasing smile. Rowan didn’t let himself stare too intensely at her mouth.

“Okay great,” She drawled mockingly. “I’m used to the rush getting ready for work from living with Arobynn.” She looked down at that but waved a hand as if she could beat the thought away.

“Aww Ae,” Aedion said. “Don’t be sad over that asshole. You can just get drunk and forget about him, it’s what Rowan’s been doing over Lyria.”

Rowan’s head shot up at that, glaring at Aedion who was barely even trying to hide his grin.

He sighed, it wasn’t that he had been drinking to get over Lyria, he just worked in a bar. Where there was alcohol that he could drink and at the same time he has been getting over Lyria. Two completely separate things.

Aelin seemed to look at him in understanding and then shrugged.

“I’m down for that,” she said. “It will make a change from crying over Dirty Dancing.”

All four of them groaned at that.

“There won’t be any of that in this living room.” Lorcan stated, in a tone that Rowan wouldn’t even try and debate with. Lorcan probably wouldn’t fight over Dirty Dancing but he couldn’t be sure.

“Dirty Dancing is a sure fire way to get over a break-up,” Aelin said defensively.

Rowan laughed shaking his head at the dynamics already building for the loft, this would surely be fun.

—–

Aelin knew she didn’t have to defend herself to Lorcan, especially not over a film that she was confident in her enjoyment of, but she couldn’t resist winding him up.

She continued. “I need the boost especially considering now basically all of my friends are models.”

Years of being friends with Lysandra had almost numbed Aelin to her beauty, her flowing dark hair and piercing eyes captivated many, not to mention her sizeable breasts. It was what Aelin supposed, made her so successful in her career. Though she knew her best friend was attractive it didn’t normally make her feel insecure but the recent break-up had been a knock to her confidence, but she knew it wouldn’t last long.

Fenrys coughed, leaning forwards, suddenly very interested. “All of your friends are models?”

Aelin nodded and watched Fenrys. His fingertips formed a triangle as his elbows rested on his knees.

“Excuse us, I need to have a word with my boys.” He gestured for the others to follow him to the kitchen.

Rowan and Aedion shifted. Rowan dug Fenrys lightly in the side, narrowing his eyes, but Fenrys just wiggled his eyebrows at Rowan in return.

“My boys.” Lorcan muttered “That is not a thing.” But uncrossed his arms and stood to lead the way to the kitchen.

Aelin couldn’t hear what followed, but it seemed to involve some pleading from Fenrys with Rowan and Lorcan looking varying degrees of uncomfortable. She definitely caught Fenrys mouth the word models, as his arms jerked out, hands splayed wide, but she looked away and took in the rest of the loft.

The open plan living room was surprisingly homely for a group of men in their mid-twenties, with a worn-looking brown-leather sofa with a number of patterned pillows and throws draped along. The wooden dining table behind looked worn but sturdy, with a few odd items left haphazardly on the top.

It was also surprisingly clean. She supposed that’s probably Aedion’s influence, not that the others were slobs, but Aedion had always been a meticulous cleaner, and hideously organised. 

After some more hushed whispers the men turned and slotted back into the living room. Each took up the spot they had occupied before.

“We,” Rowan waved a hand between the members of the group “just have a few questions we need to ask. Logistics.” He directed a pointed look in Fenrys’ direction.

“You don’t have pets do you?” Lorcan asked.

“Nope.” She shook her head.

“You don’t keep weird hours like Rowan do you?” Fenrys chimed in with a scowl at Rowan who raised his hands.

“No,” She replied with a laugh, “The youth of Adarlan test my patience regularly enough for me not to risk going to work without enough sleep.”

They all nodded along.

“And you can move in right away?”

“Yes, as soon as possible. I don’t think Lysandra’s roommate likes me.”

Manon Blackbeak had lived with Lysandra for years, and had always seemed the quiet type to Aelin, seeming to keep to herself. She was stunningly beautiful, as all of Lysandra’s model friends were, but her personality didn’t seem to match. Moving in with them, Aelin had seen a new side to the golden-eyed woman. A side that was particularly unhappy that Aelin and most of her belongings were covering the small space of Lysandra and Manon’s living room. It was why she needed a new place. Fast.

“Okay, great.” Aedion said, smiling at her “We’d love for you to move in as soon as you’re ready.”

She couldn’t hold back her own grin, relieved at how easy it had been with this group of males.

Hello, Loft 4D.


	2. Chapter 2

Aelin looked down at the boxes on the floor, three of them alone were allocated to clothes and there were others for miscellaneous items. Today she was moving out of Lysandra’s apartment and into the loft with Aedion and the three other men she barely knew.

She loved her new room, between the wall to wall windows that would let in plenty of light and the walk in closet she couldn’t wait to move in. She hadn’t been able to stop picturing the currently-empty room and all of the ways she could put her spin on it since her visit a few days prior. 

Lysandra breezed into the room holding a variety of bottles of toiletries.

“Don’t forget these,” She said, tucking them into one of the cardboard boxes.

“I think that’s the last of it, are you ready to head out?” Aelin asked, surveying her packing and turning to her friend. Lysandra was dressed as casually as Aelin herself, in work out gear ready for a day of moving things into the new apartment.

“Yeah,” Lysandra paused. “I just have to ask Ae, are you sure about this? I mean, I know it’s your cousin, but you barely know them.”

Aelin had pondered this herself. She had always been adventurous and outgoing, but she wondered, was this a step too far? Was this too out there even for herself?

She knew she could trust them, one of them was her cousin for Mala’s sake, but was it a risk moving into an apartment with relative strangers? Maybe, but she couldn’t shake the undeniable excitement she was feeling about the new set up.

At least the dynamic in the loft would be fresh, and it couldn’t be any worse than the current dynamic with Manon in her and Lysandra’s apartment. Just this morning she had been rudely awoken by Manon’s early morning workout playlist. There was no place for dance music at six o’clock in the morning for any sane person.

“I don’t know Lys, I’m excited. I have a good feeling about this.”

“A good feeling,” Lysandra scoffed, but her expression quickly sobered. “You don’t have to move out you know. We really don’t mind having you.”

Aelin levelled an unamused look at Lysandra.

“I think Manon will honestly start poisoning my drinks if I don’t leave soon.” That was at least partly a joke. “And I don’t want to impose on you any longer. Or have to spend any longer sleeping on a couch.”

“I get that,” Lysandra relented, but grabbed Aelin’s hand, “I’ll miss you though, and you’re welcome to come back at any time you know.”

Aelin squeezed her hand in return, “I know, and you’re obviously welcome at the loft anytime.”

“I think your roommates would love that.” Aelin snorted at the rage she knew would follow from Lorcan if she and Lysandra took over the communal space in the loft, the prospect grew increasingly attractive.

“You never know, maybe they would. Fenrys was very excited to hear about my model friends.” She raised her eyebrows at her friend.

“Stop that right now,” Lysandra laughed, “You know I would never, you on the other hand…”

“That is not going to happen.”

“It might.” Lysandra said, tilting her head.

“It definitely will not.” Aelin protested.

“Why not?”

Aelin shot her a dirty look. That would not happen.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t considered it, her cousin aside, she knew the occupants of the loft were certainly good looking. All of them tall and broad, with charming personalities to match. Well, maybe not Lorcan with his ever present frown, but she wasn’t blind. Aelin knew she was a good looking girl herself, so it was only natural to at least consider the possibility of something happening with one of them. But that wasn’t her goal, she was only just single, and after the Arobynn fiasco a break would be good.

“I live with them, it’s not a good idea.” She bent down to pick one of the boxes off the floor, Lysandra mirroring her action, “But I won’t hold it against you if you succumb to one of their charms.”

With that she darted out of the door, ignoring Lysandra’s shouts of protest as she fled to her car.

—–

Rowan woke to the sounds of metallic clunking and groaning. He tugged a pillow over his head, in the hopes of drowning out the sound, but muffled shouting broke through.

Sighing, he drew himself out of bed and shuffled out into the living room.

“What is happening?” He asked, struggling to comprehend the image in front of him. Aedion and Fenrys wrestled with an exercise bike in the hallway by the front door.

“Aelin is moving in today.” Aedion said in explanation.

“So?” Rowan ran a hand through his hair, unsure how the two things were connected.

“So, we need to make sure her room is clear for her to move into,” Aedion grunted slightly as they shifted the device further.

“And you haven’t done this already because?”

Glares reached him from both Fenrys and Aedion. A hand clapped him on the shoulder as Lorcan appeared behind him.

“Because that would require some forethought,” Lorcan tapped his temple with his free hand, mocking the two men in front of them.

“Whatever,” Aedion snapped, “You two get ready, you’re helping Aelin move in.”

“Yeah, no,” Lorcan said, and slapped Rowan lightly on the chest, “You’ve got Fenrys.”

“I’m working today,” Fenrys chimed in.

“You’ve got Rowan then.”

Aedion looked to him pleadingly.

“Yeah alright,” He shrugged. “Coffee first though.”

Rowan turned, now ignoring the spectacle with the exercise bike, and headed to the kitchen to sort his breakfast. He hoped Aelin wouldn’t have too many things for him to help move in, he had a shift later on at the bar.

As he chewed his cereal he pondered the girl moving into the bedroom opposite his own. Adding a girl to the loft would certainly change things up, but Aedion had already briefed them all that they were to keep it in their pants.

He had made it clear he wanted Aelin to feel comfortable in the loft, and that he was looking forward to getting closer to his cousin, so wanted it to last. Rowan was sure he could keep it together around Aelin, he was over his teenage crush on her, and any leftover attraction would surely be destroyed by the sharing of the bathroom. 

He finished his breakfast and headed to the bathroom for a shower, calling a goodbye to Fenrys who was heading out to a personal training session he led to earn some extra cash during the school holidays.

He quickly showered and dressed before he heard female voices from the direction of the hall, a sound fairly uncommon for mid-morning in loft 4D. He followed the sound, not wanting to seem rude or unwelcoming and found Aedion, Aelin and Lysandra in the hallway, the latter two carrying a box each.

“Is that everything?” He asked by way of greeting. “Doesn’t look like you need much help.”

Aelin laughed and handed the box over to Aedion who took it willingly. Lysandra flashed him an incredulous look.

“Nowhere near,” Aelin said, “And unfortunately the elevator is out, so I hope you haven’t done too much cardio recently.”

That damned elevator. She and Lysandra did look slightly flushed already, he ignored the rogue part of his brain that decided it was a good look on Aelin, her ponytail drawing his eyes to where the blush was spreading down her neck. Rowan didn’t mind helping her move in but wasn’t particularly thrilled at the prospect of carrying her belongings up numerous flights of stairs.

“Would you guys mind putting those in my room?” She asked Aedion and Lysandra, then pointed her finger at Rowan. “You and I can do the trips to and from the car.”

“Great,” he managed stiffly, “Lead the way.”

She turned to head out of the loft, ponytail swishing behind her head.

“How many trips do you think we’ll need to make?” He called to her as they reached the stairs.

She shrugged, “I’m not sure, there’s a few boxes down there.”

The rest of the walk to the car was left in an easy silence. It could have been awkward, but he knew if Aelin wanted the silence filled she would have filled it.

When they reached her car, Rowan let out a groan.

“There’s more than a few boxes here Aelin.”

“A few is definitely a vague term.” She argued back, bending to pick up the first box and handing it to him. “But you’re nice and strong so you can take two and then we’ll need less trips.”

She patted him on the bicep and stacked a second box on top of the first. He glared down at her, and she grinned right back up at him, hands on her hips. He sighed and turned to carry the first two boxes up the stairs realising he wasn’t going to win this one. She’d owe him after this.

—–

She hadn’t meant to sound so flirty to Rowan when she commented on his strength, although the pat on the bicep probably didn’t help. She really needed to get herself in order, she hadn’t even properly moved in yet and she was already flirting with her new roommate.

She couldn’t help it really; she didn’t remember Rowan being this attractive the last time they met all those years ago, but he definitely was now. Strongly built and towering over her with his bright green eyes and striking silver hair, he ticked all of her boxes. His rugged style and the tattoo creeping all the way up his left arm were another bonus.

Anyway, she was getting distracted. She grabbed her own box and started back up the stairs to the loft. As she reached the top Rowan was leaving the loft having deposited his own boxes inside.

“Just throw that in, apparently Lysandra and Aedion are unpacking the boxes together for you. How nice of them.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm, a light smile dancing around his lips.

“Oh Gods, already?” She laughed, ditching her box in the entry way to the apartment. “I really thought he’d last longer than right away.”

“Really?” Rowan led the way back to the stairs. “I called it, Lorcan owes me twenty bucks. He thought Fenrys would try first.”

She shook her head.

“You didn’t want to test out your own flirting skills?” She nudged his shoulder with his own. Or at least she tried, her shoulder only reached his upper arm.

“Surprisingly not, I really enjoy climbing stairs and lugging boxes.”

“Wow, what a coincidence, I do too.”

He rolled his eyes at her, but she knew he was laughing along with her.

“I thought you’d be used to it moving crates for the bar. You do work in a bar right?” She asked. Aedion had told her as much.

“Yeah,” He replied, “It’s a few blocks away, you and Lysandra should come some time, the guys all drink there for free whenever I’m on shift.”

“We’ll definitely be there for free drinks.”

“Who said you were getting free drinks?” He teased as they reached her car again. She rolled her eyes and handed him his first box.

“You did of course.” She paused unsure how to word her next question. “What happened to law school? Last time we met that’s where you were.”

Her voice trailed off at the end, unsure if she was pushing something he was sensitive about, but he didn’t seem phased in his reply as she gave him a second and final box from her car, picking her own up and locking her car.

“I dropped out actually.” His voice was soft. “Final semester of my final year.”

“Oh, right.” She didn’t want to be too nosy.

“It’s not—You don’t have to be polite about it, I chose to get a job in the bar.” He said as they began climbing the stairs again.

“Right,” She repeated.

He smiled at her awkwardness but didn’t say anything more as they climbed the stairs.

When they reached the loft and carried the remaining boxes into her room she saw Lysandra and Aedion had unpacked most of her clothes and started on her school supplies.

“Is that everything now?” Aedion asked her.

“Yeah these are the last ones, I think this one is my things for the kitchen.” She peered into the box she had just put down.

When she looked back up Rowan was removing his flannel leaving himself now in only a tight t-shirt. The whirls of ink in a language she couldn’t read stood out against his bronzed skin. She drew her eyes away and caught Lysandra raising her eyebrows at the sight.

You’re one to talk, she thought raising her own eyebrows at the narrow distance between her best friend and cousin. Lysandra shifted her weight to lean away from Aedion, a guilty look in her eyes.

She leant down to poke through the box of assorted kitchen items. Her many mugs wrapped up in tea towels to protect them during the move were slotted in among a random assortment of plates and bowls. She turned to peer at the boxes laid around her bedroom, most of them already unpacked thanks to Aedion and Lysandra. There was something missing.

“No, no. Gods, no.”

Three pairs of eyes snapped immediately to her, questions swimming in each of them. She groaned, dragging her hands down her face.

“My coffee maker—I think it’s at Arobynn’s.”

“It’s fine,” Aedion reassured her. “We can get a new one.”

“No,” She moaned, “That cost me hundreds of dollars!” She had saved for a few months to treat herself to a proper coffee machine, she wasn’t going to leave it for Arobynn.

Rowan and Aedion shared a look.

“We could go and get it for you if you want,” Aedion suggested and Rowan nodded along, crossing his arms across his chest.

“I can’t let you go for me.” She couldn’t let Arobynn win, if she didn’t go to collect her own belongings he would think she was weak. She needed him to know she was unbothered by him, having her cousin collect her things would send the wrong message.

“We can all go, how about that?” Lysandra spoke up, “I can stay in the car with you in case he gets angry.” She smiled reassuringly at her.

Aelin wasn’t nervous that he would be aggressive with her, his cruelty had always been more verbal, but she supposed the presence of Rowan and Aedion couldn’t hurt.

“We can bring Lorcan too,” Rowan said, and she smirked at him, maybe this would be fun after all.

—–

The car journey to Arobynn’s house wasn’t long, but it felt endless crammed in the back of Aedion’s car between Rowan and Lorcan. Of the three of them in the back seat, none of them said a word. The dark haired man had only agreed to come with them on the promise of free drinks in the bar later from Rowan.

His grumbled protest that he didn’t need to do any favours for that normally fell on deaf ears, but he had nevertheless followed them to the car.

Her knee bounced, displaying the nerves she was trying to keep hidden, as she rubbed her sweaty palms together. She hadn’t spoken to Arobynn since that fateful day, now nearly a month ago, and she hoped that she could keep her composure around him.

Not that she was worried her mask would slip and she would become a blubbering mess, she worried she’d have to bite her tongue to hold back the sharp insults she felt he deserved. Or that someone would have to hold her back lest she knee him where it would hurt, that was a fantasy she should probably keep unfulfilled.

In the front of the car Lysandra was directing Aedion to the small house belonging to Arobynn. The hand she had on his arm as she pointed where to pull up was something Aelin chose to ignore. At least for now, she could grill Lysandra later on. In Lysandra’s defence Aelin wondered why she had never introduced the pair before, they certainly looked good next to each other, but her thoughts were interrupted by Aedion pulling up the car and turning the engine off.

Lysandra turned in her seat, her hand dropping away from Aedion as she looked toward Aelin.

“You’ve got this. Get the coffee maker, then leave. We’re all here.” Each of the three men nodded along, surprisingly serious. Then Rowan unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out of the car, making way for her to follow.

Once out of the car she took a deep breath and marched to Arobynn’s front door. She turned back to see Rowan climbing back into the car and Lysandra flashing her a thumbs up. She raised her hand and knocked.

The door swung open seconds later and she was face to face with him. His red hair was longer than the last time she had seen him, and his stubble was grown out to more of a full beard. He looked older than the last time she had seen him, tiredness written across his face, and his expression twisted as he took her in.

“Aelin.” His voice was cold.

“Arobynn.” She returned; he wasn’t going to make this easy. “I’m here for my coffee maker.”

He scoffed. “I see you’ve brought your bodyguards.” He looked past her to the car and stepped out of his house, forcing her to take a step back onto his front lawn. She heard a car door open but refused to look away from Arobynn’s face.

“My coffee machine. Where is it?” She asked, eyes narrowed and voice sharp.

“Look Aelin,” he started taking another step and forcing her back again, more car doors opened behind her. “I think you should leave.”

His hand came up to rest on her shoulder, pushing slightly to turn her back towards the car. She was aware now of a body close behind her and she flashed her head to the side to catch Aedion staring daggers into the side of Arobynn’s skull.

“Take your hand off her, man.” Rowan’s voice came from her other side, his tone icy.

Arobynn looked at him in disbelief, “Who are you?” He snapped.

“That doesn’t matter,” Aedion started, but she interrupted him.

“Get your hand off me. Now.”

She squared her shoulders shaking his hand off and stepped around him. His gaze was drawn away from her now, sizing up the men behind her. Even Lorcan stood to Rowan’s side, arms crossed as he scowled down at Arobynn.

She saw her opportunity and took it, darting around him and into the house. She knew the layout, so it only took seconds for her to reach the kitchen, spy her coffee maker and unplug it, hauling it out of the room.

She blew through the hall only pausing when she spotted a scarf of hers she thought she had lost, peeking out from under one of his coats in the hallway. She pulled the scarf down off the hook, furious that Arobynn hadn’t said anything about her things being at his place. Beneath the scarf was a summer jacket of hers which she shoved under her arm and flew through the doorway.

“You are such an asshole!” She screamed flashing her middle finger at him, and he turned away from where he was arguing with Aedion. “Let’s go.”

The others followed her to the car as she threw her things in the trunk, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Aedion had the car started and waiting as she tossed a final glare towards where Arobynn remained in the middle of his lawn. She clambered back into the car, followed closely by Rowan, who grinned at her once the door was shut and they were driving away.

A laugh bubbled out of her, and she shared a grin with Lysandra who let out her own giggle.

“We got it,” She buried her head in her hands, leaning slightly against Rowan’s shoulder. She felt him shift and glanced up towards him.

“You got it,” He told her, then raised his head to the others in the car. “Now, drinks on me.”


	3. Chapter 3

The next two weeks flew by in a blur as Aelin settled in to her new normal. She had spent days debating how to arrange the furniture in her bedroom, enlisting Fenrys and Aedion multiple times to move her bed from one side of the room to the other and back again until she was satisfied with its placement.

She had managed to put her personality into the boring room, its brick walls spiced up by colourful wall hangings and the wooden beams of the ceiling offset by drapes of dangling plants across her shelves. She felt at home in the loft.

Her moving into the communal areas had been more of a struggle. Rowan and Lorcan protested her attempts to cover the sofa with her hand-made quilts but they had relented once Fenrys and Aedion had expressed their support.

“We don’t want it to be too much of a guys’ apartment,” Aedion had admitted.

When Lorcan had protested that it was a guys’ apartment with a not-so-subtle smirk at her she had lobbed one of her throws at his head. He had caught it and his smirk spread to a full blown grin, but he tucked it onto the arm of the couch, nonetheless. She supposed it was actually a progression of their relationship that she knew he was teasing. The past two weeks had shown her that most of his snarky comments were joking, whether or not their delivery seemed as such.

She had learned many new things about all of the guys in the loft since moving in. She had thought she had known all there was to know about her cousin, and they had always got along, but she was delighted to find that they had quickly become as close as brother and sister. His eager personality paired him well with Aelin’s outgoing nature.

The only issue was the frequency that she had ended up sharing her breakfast with one of his visitors, always dressed in one of his shirts or their own dress from the night before. She didn’t judge the girls, she just didn’t need to think about her cousin in that way, although it had surprised her that he hadn’t made any comments to Aelin about Lysandra since their flirtations the day she moved in. In fact, she had expected him to ask for her friends number the next day; but the request never came.

She had watched the two of them on the first night she and Lysandra had visited the bar Rowan worked at. It had quickly become the spot she spent most of her evenings at, the rest of the loft joining too, on the nights Rowan was working.

The bar reminded her of Rowan; dark walls with old-fashioned lamps placed around the room to brighten up the space. The wooden panels around the bar were rustic and worn-looking without being shabby, and it had an easy mix of regular patrons and drop-in drinkers that felt homely and comfortable. Rowan’s attire of plaid shirts fit in as well and while they rotated in their colour they were a guaranteed feature, along with the rag he slung over his shoulder that made him look like such a typical bartender she hid her snigger in her drink.

It was during those nights at the bar that she had gotten to know Rowan the most. The bar was never particularly busy so he could spend most of his shifts talking to her, fixing her sweet cocktails without her even having to ask.

“What else would Aelin Galathynius drink?” He had teased her the first time she and Lysandra had paid the bar a visit. He had even tucked a pink umbrella into each of their glasses.

They had made easy small talk while he worked and she found it fascinating to watch him work, the way his hands would flow across the bar, steady and strong while he poured. He had an easy way of interacting with customers, polite but charming that helped to earn him the tips she spotted him receiving.

She herself had contributed to a large number of those tips, seeing as he hadn’t let her or Lysandra pay for a single drink any of the times they had visited. Aedion, Fenrys and Lorcan didn’t pay either, but none of them seemed inclined to tip, probably a result of having the routine down for years.

She sighed, longing to spend a chilled night in the bar now, but the summer was over and her first day back teaching high school history was upon her. She adjusted her blouse where it hung from her shoulders and slipped on her pumps.

She headed to the kitchen to fix her coffee and was met with Fenrys and Aedion in the kitchen.

“Morning,” Fenrys greeted her around his mouthful of cereal.

“Good morning,” She greeted in return. “You excited for today?”

“You know it,” He pointed his spoon at her, “Being the most liked teacher in the school really is fun.”

“Right,” She laughed as Aedion rolled his eyes.

“Fortunately, I have to get to my job where I’m also the most liked employee.” Aedion drawled sarcastically. He was the only male employee at a marketing company and he probably would have enjoyed it if any of the women there would have given him a second thought. Instead, to his dismay, he had ended up the little brother of the office.

“I’ll head down with you,” She said collecting her things and waving a goodbye to Fenrys as they headed out.

Once at her car she bid Aedion goodbye and started her drive to the school. From the new loft her school was now an hour drive, it had only been fifteen minutes from Arobynn’s place, but that was beside the point. She could put up with a longer commute if it meant not having to see that monster of a man ever again.

She arrived at the school and pulled into her allocated parking space, grabbing her things she headed into the morning teachers briefing. She smiled at the few teachers she knew as she took her seat, she didn’t have many friends at the school, most of the teachers had at least twenty years on her which made finding common ground tough, not impossible, but she wasn’t desperate to see them outside of the school.

“Morning everyone, welcome back.” The principal started and read the list of notices for the beginning of the school year. She zoned out, these notices were the same every year and she didn’t have any first year classes this semester, so she knew all of the kids she’d have and nearly all of them were great.

“Now, unfortunately I’ve saved the worst until last.” The principal’s voice cut in, interrupting her planning. “The district has let us know we need to make some budget cuts, and we’ll likely be looking to cut some staff in the larger departments.”

Her stomach sank. Shit. That didn’t bode well. History was one of the biggest departments and had one of the largest budgets for the number of trips the students went on to complement their studies. She also hadn’t been at the school for long either, only a couple of years since she qualified, so she’d likely be one of the ones to be cut.

“We recognise that this isn’t great timing but unfortunately the decision has come from the high-ups.” The principal’s apology mellowed her slightly, but she couldn’t fight the element of panic that was creeping in.

Once the principal had finished she left the meeting and traipsed to her classroom. She couldn’t fight the dread in her stomach, it was surely only a matter of time before the principal sent for her to break the bad news. She couldn’t believe the timing, at the start of the school year, just as she was beginning to feel settled in the loft it was all getting shaken up.

—–

The bar wasn’t busy, it never was on late Tuesday afternoons, but there were still a scattering of customers Rowan needed to serve in between chatting with Fenrys who was perched on a stool at the bar. Aedion and Lorcan would likely come through the doors soon, settling in their own stools until Rowan closed up.

It had become their place to hang out once Rowan had got the job there a couple of years ago. It was comfortable and Rowan’s boss didn’t mind him giving his friends a few drinks on the house, Rowan knew he was a valuable employee, he took it seriously, even if it was just bar work to some. It was also nice to spend some time together out of the loft, and he liked that Aelin had joined a few times since moving in, she slotted well into the dynamic.

He was wiping some spilled beer off the top when Fenrys’ question reached him.

“Have you decided who you’re bringing as your date for the weekend?”

His date? The weekend?

“What’s this weekend?”

Fenrys rolled his eyes, used to Rowan’s lack of organisation.

“Essar’s wedding remember, we RSVP’d months ago.” Fenrys’ tone was teasing.

“Right, that. I remember now.” This was something he must have buried deep inside his mind. He knew what Essar’s wedding would mean. All of their college friends would be reunited, himself, Aedion and Fenrys had all received an invitation which meant Lyria would have had one herself. Ah, the question of his date. “I hadn’t thought about it to be honest.”

The door swung open and Aedion slid through, loosening his tie, followed by Lorcan out of his uniform but still in a Rifthold City Police Department t-shirt. As they took their seats he filled their glasses.

“What’s the topic of conversation for tonight gentlemen.” Aedion’s voice was cheery.

“Essar’s wedding, or more specifically our dates.” Fenrys’ eyes sparkled.

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, boyo,” Lorcan said to Fenrys, “If there’s an open bar one of you is taking me.”

“Since when!” Fenrys exclaimed.

“Since now,” Lorcan laughed.

“I can,” Rowan offered, but didn’t go any further when he caught Aedion and Fenrys share a look.

“No, my friend,” Fenrys grinned at him, leaning over the bar, “You will take a date. A female date. Someone who will show Lyria you’re over her.”

“Who? I’m not dating anyone and there isn’t long to start dating someone new.” Five days was not enough to find a date he could take as a plus one for a wedding. That was at least a second date activity.

“There’s plenty of time, and if not,” He didn’t like the grin building on Fenrys’ face, “You could always take a fake date.”

“No,” He shook his head, absolutely not. He wasn’t that pathetic. “Absolutely not. What are we? Fifteen?”

“You don’t have to be young to be desperate.” He was going to kill Fenrys.

“You could go alone and show Lyria that if you wanted.” Aedion knew his words would hit Rowan in the right place. “Or you could take a fake date.”

“Who would I even ask?”

Even Lorcan grinned, seemingly caught up on the joke Fenrys and Aedion were teasing him with. Rowan knew his resistance was somehow waning.

“How about Aelin’s friend Lysandra?” Fenrys’ suggestion came far too quickly.

“Stop it,” Rowan scolded him, he couldn’t be serious. He barely knew Lysandra, they had only met twice, and hadn’t ever spoken one on one. But she was an attractive woman, and Lyria would notice. Stop. He wasn’t seriously considering this.

“Maybe I’ll invite Lysandra then. You could always ask Aelin.” Aedion said, enjoying himself far too much.

“Aelin?” He repeated, Aedion had to be joking. He and Aelin were friends now. That would be weird.

Aedion’s response was interrupted by the arrival of Aelin herself, Rowan hissed at them to change the subject as Aelin slammed her bag down and plopped into her seat. Her golden hair was mussed, her ponytail pulling to one side and her cardigan hung off one of her shoulders. It was the most dishevelled he had seen her; she was normally far more put together.

“Pink wine, stat. Please.” Her manners seemed to be tacked on at the end as an afterthought.

“Everything okay?” He asked her, turning to the side to fetch her drink.

She let out a delirious laugh, “I lost my job today.”

The atmosphere at the bar changed immediately, Aedion hopped off his stool to slide onto the one next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Gods, are you okay? What happened?” His voice was full of concern.

“Nothing bad, I wasn’t fired or anything, but it’s budget cuts,” Her voice was thick, clearly more affected than she attempted to seem. He placed her glass in front of her.

“That’s rough, I’m sorry. Drinks on me though.” She offered him a tight smile. The others murmured their own commiserations.

“Thanks.”

“Ace I’m so sorry, is there anything we can do?” Aedion asked gently.

“No,” She leaned into his arm and raised her glass, “Just drink with me, distract me. What were you guys talking about before I arrived?” This brought a smile to Fenrys’ face again as he leaned forward.

“We were discussing our plans for the weekend. The wedding of a friend from college is coming up.” Aelin nodded along as he spoke, taking a large gulp of her wine. “Essar’s family is minted so we all get plus ones, meaning,” He seemed to pause, building his own tension. “Rowan needs a date to show Lyria he’s over her. And seeing as it’s Rowan he might need some help with that.”

He was going to kill Fenrys.

“I’m just going to suck it up. There’s not time to find a date.” He dismissed the idea, this ended now.

“Rowan,” She smiled at him, “Of course you can find a date by the weekend.”

She was being so nice, but all it was doing was adding fuel to the fire for Aedion and Fenrys.

“Thanks, Aelin, but—”

“Ace,” Aedion interrupted him, “Poor Rowan here, is useless at finding himself dates even without time pressure, so I suggested an easy solution to his problem.”

He was going to kill Aedion too.

“He takes you.” Aelin’s eyes snapped to him, her mouth dropping open. “A fake girlfriend, it’s perfect really.” At Aedion’s explanation something changed in her expression that he couldn’t decipher.

He stumbled to put her at ease, “You honestly don’t have to, it’s a stupid idea.” He ran a hand through his hair shakily. This was embarrassing.

“How bad will it be? Seeing Lyria?” She asked, tapping her fingers on the side of her wine glass. Surely she wasn’t seriously considering this.

He looked to the ceiling, hoping to draw some strength from somewhere. “Honestly, it could be pretty bad,” he admitted. There was no point in lying when nearly all of the cards were on the table. “But I would be fine, there’s no pressure.”

She took another sip of her wine, swilling it around her cheeks before carefully swallowing.

“Who doesn’t love a wedding?” She asked, sending him a sly smile. “I’ll show Lyria what she’s missing.”

“You’re sure about this?” He still wasn’t convinced this was a good idea. He ignored the grins he knew were likely already on his friends’ faces.

“Why not?” She shrugged at him. “I’m not buying my own drinks though.”

“Deal,” He returned her smile. He really wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Alcohol and playing Aelin’s boyfriend were definitely a dangerous combination.


	4. Chapter 4

Aelin gave herself a few days for a pity party. It wasn’t every day you lose a job you enjoy, and she had some savings that should be able to tide her over for a month or two, she had time to feel sorry for herself before she needed to move on. She had spent a day on the couch, crying and drinking wine watching Dirty Dancing which had unashamedly improved her mood. Lorcan had joined her at one point despite his protests when she first moved in, she knew he couldn’t resist it even though he had thrown popcorn at her when she cried at the end.

She had slept in late most mornings, hungover after many drinks in the bar the night before with the occupants of the loft, but it didn’t matter; it wasn’t like she had anywhere to be. Last night hadn’t been a late one and she hadn’t drank as much as she had the day she had lost her job, that night Rowan hadn’t let her glass fall below a quarter full.

She moaned, rolling over, brushing the nest of tangled hair off her clammy forehead. Her tongue was like sandpaper and her mouth tasted old and bitter. Gross, she needed desperately to brush her teeth.

She clambered across the bed to her bedside table to find her phone, unlocking it and checking the time. 8:02am. Not too bad, but she needed to get up now to be ready in time for the wedding. The wedding where she was going to be playing Rowan’s girlfriend.

Why had she agreed to that? At the time it had seemed like a good idea, she was feeling down and had wanted to help out a friend in a time of need. Now time had passed she questioned her own sanity; having to get close to Rowan, and to touch him, and to play all lovey-dovey with him was a task she wasn’t sure her acting skills were up too.

The morning of the wedding was probably a bit too late notice to back out on Rowan though so she would be Aelin Galathynius, fake-girlfriend extraordinaire.

She dragged herself to the bathroom to shower and clean her teeth, breakfast could wait and Lysandra would probably bring something when she came over to get ready. Lysandra’s attendance at the wedding was something Aelin hadn’t expected, she thought Aedion was joking when he told her he had invited Lysandra, and even when he clarified he was serious she hadn’t expected Lysandra to have said yes.

She trudged out of the bathroom in her towel, the other residents of the loft were nowhere to be seen, not unusual for early on a Saturday morning. She wished as little time and effort went into her own getting ready for the event later on, stupid guys and their ability to throw on a suit and be ready, she knew Rowan and Lorcan wouldn’t even consider beginning to get ready until noon.

Lysandra was likely to spend hours doing Aelin’s hair and make-up, and no doubt even more time having her try on numerous different outfits to find the perfect dress. Lysandra was given endless amounts of clothing through her modelling gigs, and they were similar in size enough that Aelin could steal pieces here and there.

There was a knock at the door and she double checked the time on her phone again, 8:43am. Lysandra was early. She ditched her towel and threw on her robe and went to answer the door.

“Good morning!” Lysandra’s voice was bright, in one hand she held a paper bag, and in the other a small suitcase.

“Morning,” Aelin pulled her friend into a one armed hug, taking the paper bag Lysandra held out to her.

“How are you feeling Ae?” Lysandra’s voice was full of concern.

“I’m okay,” She shrugged, she had come to terms with her joblessness now, and her pity party had helped her move past the disappointment. “How are you?”

“I’m glad,” Lysandra squeezed her even tighter before releasing her. “I’m fantastic of course, now; are you ready to become so hot that Rowan’s ex cries herself to sleep tonight?” Lysandra’s voice was sweet as syrup.

“I don’t need any help for that thank you very much.” She called as she shut the door and pulled Lysandra towards her bedroom, she didn’t need Aedion hearing Lysandra arrive and trying to monopolise her.

Once in her room, with the door closed, Lysandra threw her case down and flopped onto Aelin’s bed. She twisted onto her side and propped her head up with a hand and turned to face Aelin.

“I can’t believe you agreed to go to a wedding and pretend to be Rowan’s fake girlfriend.” Lysandra wasn’t wasting any time, an undercurrent of laughter hovering in her voice.

“I can’t believe you’re going to a wedding as my cousin’s date.” She leaned against her desk and folded her arms across her chest.

“Don’t change the subject,” Lysandra sang, “And anyway, I agreed to go with Aedion for the same reason that apparently Lorcan is going with Fenrys; two words. Open bar.”

“Sure, easy explanation.”

Lysandra rolled her eyes. “It’s the truth. Now stop changing the subject, you’re going to pretend to be Rowan’s girlfriend to make his ex jealous. Are you ready for that, and what you’ll have to do?”

“Yes,” Aelin deadpanned, she opened the paper bag Lysandra had brought and started on the chocolate croissant. Her favourite.

“Aelin,” Lysandra rolled forward and propped both hands under her chin “Come on, you can’t pretend you’re fine with this, I’ve seen you near him.”

“What do you mean?” She knew she was setting herself up for failure with the question, but she couldn’t help it.

“I mean when you go all goo-goo eyed around him and laugh at his stupid jokes that aren’t funny.” 

Lysandra pulled a doe-eyed expression, a bad imitation of Aelin.

“I do not,” She said stubbornly, pouting a little. “And his jokes aren’t stupid.”

Lysandra gave her a desperate look.

“Look,” She levelled with her friend, finishing her last mouthful of croissant. “Me and Rowan are friends and roommates, nothing more. A friend can help a friend out, you know, hug him when she’s looking, dance with him. It won’t mean anything.”

“Okay, sure. What about kissing? Could you kiss him?”

Aelin had thought about this. Kissing was an unstated expectation of a couple, even if they weren’t big on PDA Lyria would probably expect some kind of affection from them. A kiss on the cheek, a brush of lips. 

She could imagine how Rowan would cradle her chin with his hand as he leant in, his lips a feather-soft brush against her own. Lysandra’s knowing smirk interrupted her, and she pointed her tongue out in return.

“Yes I could, and it would be fine. We are friends. Now, are you going to do my hair or just lie on my bed and gossip all day?” She raised an eyebrow at her friend, who took the cue that Aelin was done talking about this, at least for now.

“Shut up,” Lysandra laughed and moved to open her suitcase. Aelin shuddered at the thought that an entire suitcase would be needed.

—–

There was some bubbly pop music coming from Aelin’s room, Rowan assumed that meant Lysandra was here and the two of them were getting ready for the wedding. He was nervous, way past nervous actually, about seeing Lyria at the wedding. He hadn’t seen her at all since their break-up and he knew it would be awkward when they ran in to each other.

At least he wouldn’t be alone, the rest of the guys would be there too, and Lysandra and Aelin. He supposed that an element of his nerves were probably apprehension about pretending to be Aelin’s boyfriend. He couldn’t believe Aelin had agreed to do it, or that he himself was going along with it.

He smoothed the lapels down on his blazer as he walked into the living room. He was wearing a suit borrowed from Aedion under specific instructions from Lysandra, she had deemed his own options not up to scratch. Aedion and Lorcan were already seated on the couch, both ready to leave, drinking a beer each.

“Alright man, looking good.” Aedion raised his beer, “Want one before we leave?”

“Thanks, you too,” He said, taking the beer Lorcan held out to him. Aedion did scrub up well, and he looked smart in his navy blue suit, but it wasn’t unusual to see him so well dressed, unlike Rowan and Lorcan.

He took his seat on the couch, there was still time before they had to leave, but Fenrys wasn’t ready yet and neither were the girls, so he had time to calm himself down before they needed to set off. The beer would probably help to calm some of his nerves, he hoped if he drank enough they’d all be covered.

He, Aedion and Lorcan made idle conversation about the football game on the television when they were interrupted by Lysandra coming into the room.

“We’re ready,” She said. “Are you guys all ready to go?”

Rowan’s response died in his throat when Aelin walked into the room. Her hair was curled and pinned so it cascaded down over her left shoulder, loose waves folding over one another. Her dress was tight at her waist and flowed out slightly to where it hit mid-thigh, emphasising her slender figure.

It had one strap over her right shoulder with ruffles that complimented the way Lysandra had styled her hair to the other side. Had it been blue he would have compared it to water, but it was a rich, green shade of fabric that stood out brightly against her pale skin and sun-kissed hair. The golden earrings she wore brought out the ring of gold in her eyes that crinkled as she gave him a soft smile. She seemed slightly unsure in her strappy heels but gained her confidence as she joined Lysandra where she stood by the side of the couch.

“Hot damn, ladies,” Aedion drawled, his eyes not straying from Lysandra for a second. “We’re ready I think, but I don’t know where Fenrys is.”

Rowan cleared his throat and tugged his eyes away from Aelin, but he noted the blush gracing her cheeks at his expression before he turned.

“I’m here,” Fenrys’ voice came from behind him as he left his bedroom. “Looking good.” He grinned at Aelin and Lysandra.

Rowan stood as Lorcan and Aedion did the same, getting ready to leave, and he wandered over to where Aelin stood.

“Nice suit,” She smiled as he walked towards her, crossing her hands on her bag across her front.

“Thanks, it’s Aedion’s.” He brushed his hands awkwardly down the front of his jacket. “Your dress is nice too.”

It was so much more than nice, but his brain was short-circuiting and didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Aelin smiled at the compliment and folded her arm around his own.

“Ready boyfriend?” She asked, a teasing lilt to her voice.

“Ready girlfriend.” He nodded at her and led the way out of the loft.

—–

The wedding was being held in an up-scale hotel in the city-centre. The floors were marble, and the sounds of her heels echoed throughout the room as Aelin walked in with the rest of the group. There were marble pillars stretching up to the elaborately decorated ceiling and flowers filled every available surface.

It was a beautiful wedding venue, Fenrys clearly hadn’t been lying when he said their friend from college was wealthy. He had made idle chatter with her in the Uber on their way, but she hadn’t taken much of what he said in, unable to draw her mind away from where Rowan’s leg was pressed against her own. Heat seeping through the layer of fabric of his trousers, the only barrier between their skin.

She held onto Rowan’s arm as they entered, they hadn’t spoken much since their brief exchange in the loft, but she knew he was nervous about seeing Lyria again. She hadn’t wanted to push him to talk, but they needed to begin their act and holding his arm seemed a good place to start.

She took in all of the guests milling about, there was a little while before the ceremony started yet and most of the guests were talking in small groups.

“Ro,” Aedion’s voice filled the air, “There’s Lyria.” He pointed subtly behind her and she felt Rowan tense. Aelin couldn’t spot Rowan’s ex in the crowd, she caught the sight of a head of dark hair before Rowan pulled her back around.

“Maybe she won’t spot us.” His voice was short.

“Ro,” Aedion began, “You’ll have to see her before this is over.”

“I know,” Rowan said running a hand over his hair. “But just—not yet.”

Aelin squeezed his arm in silent encouragement, and he relaxed slightly as he sent her a small smile.

“Well,” Lorcan’s voice broke in, “I’m getting myself to the bar to at least get one drink before this thing starts.”

“I’ll join you.” Lysandra said quickly and the two headed off into the crowd leaving Aelin with the three college friends.

“She’s looking this way.” Aedion said without looking away from Rowan, who slipped his arm around Aelin’s waist. She tried not to react to the warmth seeping through her dress from his hand, tried to remind herself why he had done it when it was so easy to sink into his side and tuck her shoulder under his arm.

—–

It was a beautiful service, the couple were clearly very much in love, even to Aelin who had never met the pair. At the end she even felt a little teary, the outpouring of love in Essar and her now-husbands vows had touched her. Once the ceremony was over the wedding relaxed a little and the guests mingled helping themselves to food and drinks. Aelin, Lysandra and the rest of the Loft 4D residents all made use of the open bar.

Rowan had played the doting boyfriend well. 

A gentle hand on her lower back when he introduced her to other guests at the wedding, an arm along the back of her chair when they sat at their table for the speeches. 

Aelin was dealing with his physical affection, trying to keep herself focused on remembering the reason for it and she wasn’t shying away herself. Resting her head against his shoulder or ghosting her lips across his cheek when Fenrys let slip that Lyria was nearby.

She hadn’t been introduced yet, and Aelin was wary but it wasn’t long until Rowan turned to her, his tie loosened and the top button of his shirt undone. She enjoyed seeing him dressed smartly, but he looked far more himself with the few steps taken to play down the formality. “We should probably go and say hi to Lyria.”

She took the final swig of her drink and linked her fingers through his. “Lead the way.”

He led her through the crowds towards where a woman with dark hair was talking in a group.

“Lyria,” He called.

“Rowan!” Lyria’s voice was high but soft as she turned to him.

Lyria was, in a word, stunning. Her dark hair framed her face perfectly and her poker-straight lengths shone under the gentle lights of the hotel. She was slender, but had curves that her tight, sea-blue cocktail dress highlighted, and she seemed to glide as she turned towards the pair. Rowan’s perfect opposite.

Her smile was blinding as she took in Rowan, who was attempting a small smile and Aelin squeezed his hand in hers. He glanced briefly down at her, returning the squeeze.

“Rowan, so good to see you. How have you been?” Lyria leaned in to peck his cheek, which he returned stiffly.

“I’ve been well thanks,” His voice was low as he slid his hand from Aelin’s to loop it around her waist, taking in the dark-haired gentleman holding Lyria’s hand. “And you?”

“Yes, well,” She laughed, a beautiful sound. “I’m well too, I’m sure you remember Rolfe from work.”

Aelin felt Rowan’s hand tighten on her waist as he stretched his other hand out to shake Rolfe’s. Aelin hadn’t anticipated Lyria bringing a date too. Was hers fake too? Based on Rowan’s reaction she guessed not.

“Yes, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend Aelin.” 

Her time to shine.

“Great to meet you Lyria,” She offered her own hand and Lyria’s eyes lit up. Not quite the reaction that Aelin had expected, but she smiled sweetly and greeted her.

“You too,” Lyria’s smile was warm as she shook Aelin’s extended hand. “How long has this been going on?” Her tone was inquisitive, but not unkind.

They had planned out their story, as not to get it wrong. They planned to tell Lyria how Aelin had moved in almost two months ago, as was the truth. 

The lie came with the part where they had realised their mutual attraction, and with the blessings of the others in the loft, had begun to date almost a month ago.

“About a month now.” The smile Rowan gave her as he answered had her breath catch in her throat. 

Rowan needed to smile more if he looked like that when he did. Eyes sparkling, and lips pulling back to show rows of straight, white teeth. It softened his usually harsh expression.

“I’m happy for you, Rowan,” Lyria’s voice was sweet and Aelin could tell she was sincere. Whatever she had expected from Rowan’s ex after the stories she had heard about their numerous break-ups from Aedion and Fenrys, this wasn’t it.

“Thanks,” Rowan said, his breath brushing Aelin’s hair and raising the hairs down the line of her neck.

“And you guys look so good together, don’t they Rolfe?” Lyria pressed her hands to her heart turning to her boyfriend who nodded loyally. 

She turned to Rowan, trying to look as in love as possible, and pressed herself into his chest. She wasn’t faking the blush that rushed to her cheeks at the thought that she and Rowan looked good together.

“Thanks,” Rowan said, not looking away from Aelin. He brushed his lips against her cheek, and Aelin couldn’t help but lean into it.

“It was really great seeing you, we’ll have to speak soon.” Lyria smiled as she and her boyfriend left, Aelin and Rowan giving their own goodbyes. She immediately felt Rowan relax, his hand drifting from her waist leaving her side cold.

“How was that?”

“Honestly?” He let out a small sigh, “Not too bad.”

“Good, I’m glad. I’m sure rubbing your fantastic new girlfriend in her face helped.” She smirked at him, and he laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders and leading her back to the table the rest of their friends were sat at.

—–

The rest of the wedding was fun, she danced with Lysandra for what felt like hours. The pair laughing at the fact they had probably drank hundreds of dollars’ worth of drinks at a wedding for a couple they hadn’t met before. They had been introduced to Essar by Aedion who had been friendly and inviting, thanking them for coming.

She had danced with her cousin and Fenrys too, even shared a dance with Lorcan when Fenrys had crept off to play his hand with a bridesmaid.

She had been nervous to share a dance with Rowan, even though that was a large reason for her attendance at the event, after the conversation Lysandra had attempted to drag out of her in the ladies toilet.

“You and Rowan are looking awfully cosy,” her friend had teased.

Aelin shushed her, concerned that Lyria could have been hiding in a cubicle, but she knew it was ridiculous.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed you and Aedion,” Lysandra had been looking pretty comfortable tucked under her cousin’s arm and holding his hand as they shared a dance.

She had managed to dismiss her friend, with the promise of discussing later, but had left the toilets and pulled Rowan straight up to dance.

She turned away from Lysandra’s not-so-subtle gesturing where she leaned against the bar with Aedion to rest her head on Rowan’s chest. They would talk about that later. 

Her hands were locked around his neck, fingers interlinked as they swayed together, brushing the back of his shirt collar. He’d removed his jacket earlier, and she couldn’t help but prefer him a little ruffled.

She knew how this had to look to Lyria, knew they looked like every other couple on the dancefloor, and shuffled a little closer to Rowan. His hand on her lower back slid further around her side as he adjusted his grip to hold her tighter against his body. His other hand stayed resting by her shoulder, toying lightly with a lock of hair that had fallen out of Lysandra’s careful styling in the hours they’d been there.

He wasn’t a bad dancer, not that what they were doing exactly qualified as dancing, but his steps from side to side followed the rhythm of the old song playing in the background.

When I’m in your arms, nothing seems to matter

Aelin shouldn’t have felt as relaxed as she did, in the arms of Aedion’s college roommate turned Aelin’s roommate and fake-date for the evening. Especially considering she had noticed Rowan watching Lyria as she danced with her new boyfriend. His navy blue suit perfectly coordinated with Lyria’s dress.

It wasn’t lost on Aelin that her own dress, courtesy of Lysandra, matched the deep green of Rowan’s tie. A shade much darker, and not quite as lovely as the bright green of his eyes.

Lyria’s eyes seemed to flash over to the pair of them, and Aelin quickly pulled her gaze back to Rowan to find him looking down at her, a slight hint of a smile tugging at his lips. He played his part well. She easily could have believed his gaze was loving, that he was holding her this way because there was no other way he would hold her. She swallowed against the unwelcome thought.

My whole world could shatter, I don’t care

“Your acting skills are better than I expected, I have to say,” he teased, his words snapping her out of the daze she had fallen into. 

He was far more relaxed now than he had been earlier, she wondered if he was relieved that Lyria seemed to have bought their ruse. She stepped on his toe and he winced, still laughing slightly.

“My acting is almost as good as my dancing.” She grinned as she spun out of his arms and twirled back in. His smile was bright as he pulled her tightly in to rest against him, now even closer than they were before.

“Truly impressive”, he drawled sarcastically. She had no other response than to grin up at him, towering over her despite the heels she wore.

Wouldn’t you agree, baby you and me got a groovy kind of love

It was his next sentence that stopped her slightly.

“Thanks for doing this, Aelin,” he said into her hair. “I didn’t want her pitying me.”

His eyes were back on Lyria, and Aelin dropped her hands from his neck to his chest, leaning back and away from him gently.

“It’s no problem,” She managed, “What are friends and new roommates for, right?”

She scanned the room, looking for an out that wouldn’t seem sketchy to Lyria. That’s who they were here to convince, Aelin wasn’t sure where her mind was headed but she needed to settle back into her fake-girlfriend role quickly. Emphasis on fake and quickly.

She spotted Lorcan sat at their table, whiskey in hand, and as the song finished and transitioned into something more upbeat she tugged herself out of the circle of Rowan’s arms and lead him by the hand over to where Lorcan was sat. She didn’t check to see if Lyria was watching.

“I’m not trying to convince my ex of anything Galathynius so don’t be expecting that of me.” 

Lorcan nodded his head towards the dancefloor where Aedion and Lysandra were dancing to the new song. Lysandra’s movements much smoother than Aedion’s.

Aelin didn’t miss the smile threatening to break through onto the lips of her best friend as she watched a drunk Aedion flail uncontrollably.

“Someone would have needed to date you first for that to happen, Salvaterre,” she bit back mockingly.

She and Rowan were both ready to take a seat when Fenrys appeared over Rowan’s shoulder, having apparently lucked out with the bridesmaid. 

“Her loss,” he had shrugged.

“That looks like fun,” He said, grabbing Aelin’s hand as he led her over to join Aedion and Lysandra. His dancing even worse than Aedion’s, despite their comparable levels of intoxication.

Not bothering to hold back her smile as she danced with her new roommate, Aelin relaxed into the song not bothering with any particular steps. Seconds passed until they were joined, albeit reluctantly, by Rowan and a stiff Lorcan.

Her limbs were loose, and so was her smile. She didn’t care how they looked to Lyria now, she wasn’t sure it ever really mattered to her.

—–

When they arrived back at the loft Fenrys and Lorcan hauled a now-babbling Aedion to his room, having bid Lysandra goodbye at the venue. She had promised to text Aelin when she was home safely, and that they would debrief the next day. Aelin made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water, kicking her shoes off and not bothering to check where they landed.

The cool water cleared her head slightly, and she tapped some of the beads of condensation off the glass along her forehead, trying to sober up before heading to bed. She wasn’t drunk, but even going to bed mildly tipsy always made her feel unwell.

She turned when she heard the nearby cupboard door open as Rowan grabbed a glass for himself. She must have missed him come into the kitchen, distracted thinking about the night. 

He’d kept his jacket off, and his tie was gone now too, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She followed the motion as he turned the tap on, filled his own glass and started to drink.

She wasn’t supposed to be looking at Rowan like that. Wasn’t supposed to notice how the rumpled look was working for him or how the rolling of his sleeves highlighted his muscular forearms; they lived together. 

She shouldn’t have let herself be so affected by what they had done tonight, they had managed to escape without sharing a kiss, the furthest they got was pressing their lips to each other’s cheeks. Only a tiny part of her was disappointed.

She looked up from his arms to catch him looking at her, eyebrows raised. She shook her head, hoping he wouldn’t ask, and cleared her throat but his question beat her to it.

“How long do you give it for Aedion to actually make a move on Lysandra?” He asked with a conspirator’s grin.

“Don’t,” She sighed, passing a hand over her forehead. “He would never. She’s my best friend, and especially not now that I live here.”

He shrugged at her; he clearly didn’t agree with her assessment. 

“He might. He’ll probably hope you forgive him if it fucks anything up though.”

The look he gave her didn’t seem like a joke anymore, but then he shrugged again and turned to put his glass in the sink.

“Night, Aelin.”

“Night.” She whispered back as he left the kitchen. She stayed stood, leaning against the worktop waiting to hear his bedroom door close.

Shit, she thought to herself. Probably not for the last time.

This was Rowan, her roommate. Her new friend.

She bent over the counter, pressing her face into the cool surface. Maybe she could pass this off as drunken pondering.

Rowan being friendly and hot was something she needed to ignore. Maybe this would pass, maybe it was only because she was recently single and now surrounded by guys. Honestly it was bound to happen.

But she needed to not mess this up, which looking at Rowan like she was tonight might very well do. He wasn’t looking at her the same way. Probably.

She whirled, leaving her own glass on the side, and marched into her bedroom, the one opposite Rowan’s. But she wasn’t thinking about that, she needed this loft to work out.


	5. Chapter 5

Aelin huffed in frustration, slamming her laptop shut and tossing it to the other side of her bed.

Her third job rejection in so many days. How could she be simultaneously under and overqualified?

She blew a rogue strand of hair away from her face before rolling sideways, pushing her face into her pillows. She wasn’t desperate yet, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a job. Plus, the rejections were landing blows to her self-esteem.

A knock sounded at her bedroom door, snapping her out of her grumbling.

She turned to the side, dragging her face out of her pillow. “Come in.”

The door swung open to reveal Fenrys, his golden curls falling across his forehead, his tan skin glowing in the afternoon light.

“Galathynius, I have news for you.”

He pointed a finger at her as he came into her room and took up a spot at the end of her bed. He positioned himself far too comfortably, lounging on her bed as if he owned it, anyone else and she would have kicked them off. She couldn’t help but nudge him slightly with her toe.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

She took a breath, hesitating as she weighed up Fenrys’ assessment of good and bad news and whether or not she would agree but he spoke again before she could say a word.

“Doesn’t matter, you need the good before the bad anyway.”

She shot him an incredulous look but rolled her wrist, a gesture for him to go on.

“Good news;” A smile crept up his chiselled face. “I managed to get you an interview for head of the humanities department at my school.”

She blinked.

Head of the humanities department was a role far above what she had had at her old school and it would give her far more responsibility and say in the education of her students. She would be able to influence what was taught in the school and how the students were assessed. It would also likely come with a considerable pay rise.

She let out a strangled cry and threw her arms around his neck.

“Fenrys,” she gasped. “How?”

“The right person owed me a favour.” He looked up at her with a sly grin.

“That’s incredible,” She breathed, mind was running wild with the possibilities. Once she turned back to him she paused. “What’s the bad news?”

Fenrys pulled a face, the corners of his mouth turning down and pulling into a grimace. He swiped a thumb across his forehead and tucked a strand of his thick hair back from his face before he spoke.

“The bad news is that it’s tomorrow.”

Aelin felt her face fall.

“At nine am.”

Of course his news was too good to be true.

“I can’t prepare in time for tomorrow.” 

Her brain ran into overdrive, brainstorming every possible thing she would need to do before an interview. Every question she could be asked and how she would answer it. What would she wear, what experiences would she draw from her past school, what references she would need.

Fenrys’ hand clamped down on her shoulder, startling her out of her spiralling.

“Of course you can,” His voice was a warm reassurance. “I can help.”

“Really?” She asked, a seed of hope growing in her chest. They had a couple of hours before she’d need to go to bed to be rested enough to perform, they could get through plenty.

“Really,” He said affirmatively, before turning away from her to yell “Lorcan!”

Muffled footsteps from the hallway pre-empted the appearance of her dark-haired roommate in her doorway.

“Yes?” He drawled, clearly already bored of whatever Fenrys had to say. His arms crossed across his chest as he leaned against her doorway, his frame so tall and his shoulders so broad he almost filled the gap.

“We’re going to quiz Galathynius, help her prepare for her interview tomorrow.”

She expected him to dismiss the idea and skulk off, but to Aelin’s surprise the man in the doorway shrugged before pushing his weight up from the frame.

“The kitchen table will work best.” He turned on the spot and was gone a second later.

She looked to Fenrys who only grinned.

—–

She felt ridiculous greeting Lorcan and Fenrys over their dining table and shaking their hands. Lorcan squeezing hers so tightly she had to flex her fingers afterward, hoping to get the feeling back. No need, dick. He smirked at the glare she shot him.

“Ms Galathynius, please take a seat.”

It was a struggle to keep a straight face with the ridiculous accent Fenrys had decided to speak in, she caught the slight flaring of Lorcan’s nostrils which had her holding in a snort.

“Thank you.”

She took the wooden chair he had gestured towards; it was normally Aedion’s chair and she had no idea why he would choose repeatedly to sit on this. The slats of it dug in uncomfortably to her back and her bum was numb in seconds.

To be fair, it did make sense for her cousin, he was uptight about a number of things and would probably argue it was good for his posture and back support.

Opposite her, Fenrys and Lorcan took their own seats.

She couldn’t imagine being a criminal if this was Lorcan’s interviewing technique. The frown his face was fixed in was slightly terrifying. She looked toward Fenrys who played the perfect good cop to Lorcan’s bad, smiling broadly at her in contrast to Lorcan’s heavy frown.

“Why don’t you tell us why you’d like the role.”

She launched into her speech about her motivations for teaching, she loved the students and really cared about the development of every single one. It was her passion, and she had loved history since she was a child, and the best way she could explore it was through teaching it.

“And why do you think you’re up to the task?” Lorcan asked.

Aelin raised an eyebrow, almost sending a taunting reply his way, but this was for her own good. And Lorcan was, surprisingly, helping.

She answered fast before his good will could run out.

They flew through a set of questions, Fenrys encouraging her and adding slight pointers where his knowledge of the school could help her to impress. Lorcan also added his own tips, a number of them surprisingly helpful, she supposed that to get his own role as a police sergeant he would have had to have done well in interviews.

She knew what she had to say in answer to the questions she’d likely face, but the practice was invaluable, especially given the interview was at such short notice and Fenrys’ knowledge of the school. He, unsurprisingly, knew all of the teachers in the department and how she could impress them, and she made a mental catalogue of his descriptions of each of them.

Once the had finished and she was tucked up in her bed, her soft, cotton pyjamas keeping her warm beneath the sheets, her phone lit up with a notification.

Rowan: i probably won’t see you before you go so good luck with tomorrow.

She smiled at her phone, Fenrys had probably texted him to let him know, but either way she appreciated his message. 

It was nice to hear from him; he’d been picking up extra shifts at the bar and she hadn’t seen him for more than half an hour at a time for the past few days. She quickly tapped out her own reply, Thanks with a smiling emoji before turning out her light.

——

Rowan had been relieved to find it wasn’t awkward with Aelin after the wedding. He had been worried that they wouldn’t be able to live normally together after being so close to one another, he worried they wouldn’t have been able to slot back into being roommates after getting into each other’s personal space. 

That being said he hadn’t exactly been seeking her out since.

He wasn’t sure if what they had had in the quiet of the kitchen after the wedding had classed as a moment, but he hadn’t missed the way her cheeks had flushed when she noticed him in the kitchen, or the way she’d stiffened after his comment about Aedion.

She had to have seen right through his words, known his meaning behind them.

He needed to be very careful; he owed it to Aelin to respect her space and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable in her own home. Not to mention the oath he had sworn to Aedion before she had moved in, the oath they had all sworn, that Aelin was off limits.

Aelin would probably cut them to pieces if she found out, Aedion especially for trying to fight her own battles for her, but Rowan had still sworn the oath and still needed to keep it. 

He couldn’t lie to himself though; it had been nice to hold Aelin the way he had done. 

She was so tiny his hand had spanned almost the entirety of her back when he had cradled her to him as they danced. Her fingers carding through his hair had felt divine, sending sparks of heat down his spine. Rowan also couldn’t deny that he found her to be absolutely stunning. 

He was satisfied that Lyria had believed it. Had believed that he had fallen in love with Aelin, that he was in love with Aelin, but it had hurt both more and less than he had expected to see her.

It had hurt less than he expected to see her in front of him knowing she wasn’t the Lyria he had known anymore. She was still as beautiful as he had thought she was the first time he had seen her, but he hadn’t felt the tug towards her he used to. 

His heart hadn’t pounded the way it used to when he saw her, it hadn’t pounded the way it did when he had held Aelin close.

What had pierced him in a way that he hadn’t expected was seeing Lyria with Rolfe. He wasn’t surprised that she had moved on with her boss, throughout their whole relationship he had always suspected Rolfe’s feelings for Lyria, and truth be told Lyria’s for Rolfe.

He sighed, pushing the door to the loft open. Four heads snapped to him at his entrance.

“Hey,” he stalked into the living space to find all of his roommates crowded around the coffee table. The only thing on it was Aelin’s phone, its corners lined up perfectly with the corners of the table as they all watched it.

Their greetings were brief as they all turned back to the phone.

He knew her interview had been this morning, and he could only imagine why she’d be waiting by the phone, it only slightly surprised him that Aedion, Fenrys and Lorcan were waiting with her. He wondered where Lysandra was.

“Have you heard—”

His question was interrupted by the shrill ringtone of Aelin’s phone. She grabbed it, jumping up from her spot on the couch.

She spun to face them all, holding her index finger to her lips before lifting the phone to her ear.

“Hello.” Her voice was apprehensive and small as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

Rowan couldn’t hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying, and he turned a curious eye to Aedion who only held a finger to his own lips.

Aelin nodded along to whatever was being said on the phone call, occasionally humming her agreement. Finally, she put the phone down before turning to the occupants of the loft.

There was a beat of silence before Fenrys spoke. “So?”

“I got it!” She squealed, running to the sofa and sweeping the others up in a hug.

Even Lorcan was smiling, she really did have the occupants of the loft wrapped around her little finger.

Aelin turned toward him, unleashing the full brightness of her grin. It struck him how beautiful she was, her face shining as her eyes scrunched up and she smiled at him.

“Congrats.” 

He pulled her into a hug of his own, trying his best to keep it brief and not to notice the press of her body up against his own but he was pulled back by the aggressive sound of glass against their coffee table.

Fenrys gripped the neck of a bottle of vodka where he had thrown it onto the table.

His smile was wicked. “Let’s get drunk.”

His roommates cheered but his brain only focused on Aelin’s peals of laughter. Bright and easy and relieved.

Aedion appeared with shot glasses and passed them around as Fenrys followed, filling each of them to the brim with the clear liquid.

“To Aelin,” Aedion toasted as he held his glass in the air. “My soon to be rich as fuck cousin.”

“To Aelin!”

Rowan swore as the vodka burned his throat, the heat trailing all the way to his stomach.

—— 

Really, they were lucky it was a weekend. Fenrys kept pouring and Rowan and the others kept knocking them back.

His vision had started to get blurry at the sides around the time Aedion suggested a game of truth or dare. It wasn’t something Rowan had played since college but the alcohol pumping through his veins opened his mind to the idea and killed any of his reservations.

Lysandra had appeared a while earlier, wrapping Aelin in a hug before knocking back a shot of her own. Not one to be left behind. 

Rowan had been impressed by the way she had taken the shot without so much as a wince. He made a living by selling alcohol and even he couldn’t handle his liquor the way Aelin’s best friend did.

Rowan didn’t miss the appreciative glances Aedion was shooting her way, trailing his eyes from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head and back again. Slowly, his eyes burning with intent. Rowan just hoped with brief sobriety that Aelin didn’t catch them too.

“Fenrys,” Aelin drawled. “Truth or dare.”

She had picked her head up from where it was lolling against the back of the couch to send Fenrys a contemplative look.

“Truth.” He answered, refilling his own glass.

She cocked her head to the side, as one hand came up to tap her chin. Without his sober brain to keep him in check Rowan followed the movement, his eyes landing on Aelin’s plump, pink lips.

“Where’s the most exciting place you’ve had sex?”

Rowan rolled his eyes, Fenrys had them all beat in that department. Apart from maybe Aedion.

“I don’t know about most exciting, but I have done it where you’re sat.”

“Gross!” Aelin cried jumping up, Rowan’s head spun at the jerkiness of her movement. It seemed to have affected Aelin too who stumbled until Lysandra offered her an arm of support.

“Drink.” She ordered him.

Aelin walked around the sofa to drop herself down next to Rowan, leaning her elbow against his knee. He was far too drunk for this.

Obligingly Fenrys knocked back his drink before turning to Lysandra.

“Lysandra, darling.” Rowan knew from Fenrys’ tone that he was about to cause a fuss. “Truth or dare.”

“Dare.” Her eyebrows quirked up in a challenge, lips twisting to the side.

“I dare you, to kiss Aedion.”

Rowan’s eyes snapped to Aedion, who was beginning to blush. Even so, a cocky grin graced his lips. 

Rowan knew his friend was attracted to Lysandra, had listened to the many stages of his (mostly joking) plan to seduce her, but he wasn’t sure where Lysandra stood.

He knew Aelin had joked to him about the two of them, but he wasn’t sure how serious she had been. Whether she honestly thought her cousin and friend would be good together or whether she was genuinely repulsed by the idea.

Lysandra rolled her eyes but rose from her spot on the bean bag on the floor next to Lorcan and stalked across to where Aedion was sat, bending slightly until they were at eye level.

She rested an elegant hand against his chest and draped the other around his shoulders. Rowan wasn’t sure Aedion was breathing, wasn’t sure any of the rest of them were either. He hadn’t expected this evening to head in the direction it was going.

Lysandra leant her head in, until there were only centimetres between them, and Aedion’s eyes flickered shut. Aedion’s hand rose to cup her cheek, surprisingly gentle given the amount he had had to drink, as he leant further into her.

Rowan’s eyes flicked around the room and he noted the glee in Fenrys’ eyes at the sight, he knew Fenrys had been dying to pull something like this. Lorcan wore a grin, for all of his posturing about being above it, Rowan knew he was a sucker for even just a nugget of gossip.

He looked to his side, at where Aelin sat, but she wasn’t watching the pair. Instead she had her head leaned back against the sofa, eyes squeezed shut.

The entire room held their breath as Lysandra closed the gap, brushing her lips against the corner of Aedion’s. She paused there, not drawing back, but she didn’t press any further until Aedion’s hand slipped to tangle his fingers into her hair.

“I’m going to be sick.”

Rowan’s head snapped to the side, to where Aelin sat gripping her stomach. The spell was broken and Lysandra pulled back from Aedion, who dropped his hand to wipe awkwardly against his trousers.

“God Galathynius,” Fenrys said, not bothering to hold in his laugh. “You can’t hold your drink.”

She sat forwards, now holding her head in her hands.

“I’m serious,” She mumbled, beginning to stand. Rowan offered his hand for her to lean against.

“Ro,” Fenrys shot him a look. “Help a lady out.”

He stood and wrapped an arm around Aelin’s waist, leading her towards the bathroom.

“No,” She mumbled. “Just bed.”

He altered their course to slip into her bedroom and he pulled back her bedding just in time for her to flop face first into her bed. Rowan threw her sheets on top of her as best as he could before turning back to the kitchen to fetch her a glass of water.

The other occupants of the loft looked to him expectantly, but he shrugged them off. 

He realised they were stood up, now wearing jackets, and he paused. To him it seemed like the night was over, now that the guest of honour was tucked away in bed, but apparently not for his roommates.

“We’re heading out to a bar Lysandra knows.” Aedion told him. “You’re welcome to come.”

He shook his head and continued to the kitchen to fetch the water for Aelin before waving his goodnight.

In her bed, Aelin had rolled onto her side, her hair fanned out across her pillow as he deposited the glass of water on her bedside table. 

He lingered for a second in her doorway, taking in the gentle expression on her face. Even in her intoxication she looked peaceful, her face smoothed out of any worries so he clicked the light off and made his way across the hall to his own room.


	6. Chapter 6

First days were always nerve-racking, and this one was no different.

Aelin knew she had no real reason to be nervous other than the fact it was new, she had prepared what she needed, even taking extra time this morning to make sure she had put on a swipe of make-up and a smart outfit to feel primed for the day.

She’d taken it upon herself to wake Fenrys up half an hour earlier than normal to make sure he would be ready to leave on time, she knew he normally rocked up to the school right on the bell, but she needed to be at least five minutes early to meet the principal, lest she look unprepared.

Fenrys had left her outside the principal’s office, waiting for the woman to arrive, taking in the blue carpet of the floor and the wooden panels of the walls. The school was in an old building, with mostly traditional décor that gave it character unlike her old school. She liked it. Even though the chair she sat in was hard and uncomfortable as she shifted her weight while she waited for the principal to appear.

She had been thankful for Fenrys’ comforting presence in the car on their way, he had chattered away filling her in on the harmless school gossip, distracting her from her worries about the new school, but now he was gone, off to teach his own classes for the day, the nerves had settled back in.

He had been almost more excited than Aelin about her new role, glad to have her at the school, and he had championed most of the drinking the night she had found out. She had had a great night, each of her friends seemed genuinely happy for her and had toasted to her all night, even once she had gone to bed they had continued to celebrate.

She hadn’t managed to quiz Lysandra after her kiss with Aelin’s cousin, whenever Aedion came up between the two Lysandra had been quick to change the subject, embarrassed at her drunk actions and the fact that they had even played truth or dare at all.

Aedion had recovered well, from Lysandra’s determined ignorance of his existence every time she saw him since, and Aelin was relatively sure he had brought a guest home from the night she hadn’t made it out to and had instead gone to bed.

Gone to bed might have been putting it generously, she remembered the way Rowan had guided her to her room. A gentle hand making sure she didn’t stumble, tucking her sheets over her and leaving a glass of water for her to down in the morning.

Her heart gave a squeeze at how gentle he had been.

Heels clacked against the cheap flooring and she glanced up. The woman striding towards her was dressed smartly in a black pencil skirt and a navy blue blouse. She had a couple of decades on Aelin, but her dark locks didn’t have even a hint of grey, nor did her harsh face have the beginning of a wrinkle.

The woman strode up to Aelin and presented her with a hand.

“Miss Galathynius I presume? Welcome to our school.” Her voice was stern but polite and Aelin stood and shook the hand she was offered. “I’m Maeve Valg, Principal, we’re glad to have you on board. Please follow me.”

The woman, Maeve, led the way into the office Aelin had been sat outside. Aelin nodded, greeting the woman and following her in.

Inside the office it was tidy, shelves lined the walls, overflowing with books and files, but organised in a way that Aelin was jealous of. Her own organisation wasn’t lacking, it couldn’t be, as a teacher she needed to know where things were, but she could never reach this level of military-style precision.

The Principal took a seat behind the large wooden desk in the centre of the room and Aelin dropped to the seat on the other side, facing her.

“Welcome,” She said again, a polite smile on her lips.

“Thank you, it’s great to be here.” Aelin said, folding her hands in her lap.

First impressions were important, and she knew she’d be able to get away with much more at a later date if she gave Maeve the initial impression that she was to be trusted.

Maeve nodded.

“It’s great to have you here, I was impressed with your interview, and I’m confident that you will fit into our school ethos well.”

Aelin smiled. She knew from Fenrys that the school valued the community spirit and communication between teachers a departments, she was excited to get stuck in. She told Maeve as much and she received another slight smile.

A knock sounded at the door behind her and Maeve called for whoever was on the other side to come in.

“Ah yes,” Maeve said standing from behind her desk. “I’ve invited Mr Havilliard to show you around. He can give you a bit more information than I can as I have to attend a meeting now.”

Aelin turned to the man in the doorway and saw he was grinning at her.

He was as handsome as a Disney prince, his thick dark hair curled around his ears, and his deep blue eyes were striking and sparkling. She took in his clean white shirt and pressed trousers where he stood. He wasn’t as tall as her roommates, but he still tilted his chin to smile down at her.

“Dorian Havilliard.” He offered his hand. “At your service.”

She shook his hand. “Aelin Galathynius.”

He grinned at her even wider than before. “Follow me Aelin,” He turned to the door with a nod behind her at the principal.

“Thanks,” She smiled at the dark haired woman before following Dorian out the door.

Once in the hall, his posture relaxed, and Aelin adjusted hers in response. He led the way down the nearest hallway, the corridors empty of any students given that the first period had already begun.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s a hard ass, but you get used to it.” He told her, his voice was low and smooth.

“Right, good to know,” She joked. “I was worried.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. She’s like that with me still and I’ve been here for years.”

She blinked; he couldn’t have been much older than her. He must have sensed her confusion, or seen the look that crossed her face, and said, “I’ve been here seven years, got the job straight out of college, worked my way up to be one of the assistant principals last year.”

Impressive, Aelin noted. He must have been at least couple of years older than her then, making him maybe thirty, if her quick mental maths added up.

“What do you teach?” She asked him, curious about that path he had taken to get where he was.

“English,” He told her. “I love it, have loved it since I was a kid.”

Aelin shared his interest, she had loved reading ever since her childhood and her mother had bought her book after book when she devoured the stories one by one. She supposed that was where her interest in history had stemmed from, reading historical fiction had led her to historical non-fiction and she found the tales of knights and kings and queens to be fascinating. Sweeping her away into tales of honour and warfare and romance, distant enough from her reality to transport her away.

They were making their way down the halls, Dorian pointing out the points of interest on their tour, telling her where the cafeteria was, where the main hall and staff rooms were. He showed her where her office would be, and they walked past the classroom that would become hers once she had time to make it her own.

“So,” He turned to her after walking her through the grounds of the school, showing her the sports pitches and athletics track. “What’s your story?”

She pondered his question for a moment, chewing the inside of her lip slightly as she took in his smile and the way he was walking close to her, his shoulders leaning into her own.

“My story?” She shrugged, flicking her eyes out across the field in front of her. “I lost my old job to budget cuts, but I’d been there for a couple of years. I actually moved here after college when I qualified and then got the job pretty much straight away.”

He nodded along as she spoke, a dark curl of his hair bobbing along his forehead as he did, but then he tilted his head at her, a piercing look in his sapphire-blue eyes.

“I knew you weren’t from around here, but I couldn’t place the accent.”

“I’m from Terrasen.” She told him, thinking fondly of her home country and her parents who lived there still. It’s rolling mountains and grassy plains that she had explored as a child, sometimes alone, sometimes with Aedion when him and his parents came to visit.

“My accent isn’t as strong now that I’ve been in Adarlan for so long.”

Dorian only smiled at her. “I like it.”

She smiled, unsure how else to respond. Was it wise to flirt with a colleague? She wasn’t truly sure she wanted to flirt with him, and she fought the part of her brain that flashed an image of Rowan up at her. She was trying her best to keep her distance, at least in that respect.

“I teach history, I love it, but I love reading too. I also live with Fenrys, I don’t know if you know him?”

“Fenrys?” He questioned. “Coach Moonbeam?”

She nodded and watched something flash across his face at the confirmation, something she’d have to ask Fenrys about. If his reputation had ruined her first friendship at the school before it had barely had chance to start she’d kill him.

“Yeah,” She confirmed warily. “We live together. He told me about the opening here.”

“I see.” She couldn’t place Dorian’s reaction to her roommate, so quickly changed the subject.

“Any advice for this school?” She asked as he held the door open for her to re-enter the building.

“Not really,” He huffed a slight laugh, scratching his jaw. “Stick with me, and a couple of other teachers here that are pretty sound, and you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah? You’ll have to introduce me.”

Maybe if she could make her own friends here she wouldn’t have to follow Fenrys around like a lost puppy.

He checked his watch, something silver and clearly expensive before saying, “Actually, I think some of them might be free now.”

He led her back through the hallways to the staff room he had pointed out earlier and pushed into the small room.

There were kitchen counters around the sides, a number of cupboards no doubt stuffed full of mugs and plates, standard for a school staff room. There were tables and chairs dotted about the space and at one of the tables sat a man and two women, each nursing a mug that based on the smell she knew contained coffee.

“Aelin,” Dorian began. “Meet Chaol, Yrene and Nehemia.”

He pointed around the table as he made the introductions.

The man, Chaol, was stern looking but his expression lightened when he offered her a small smile, his copper-brown eyes crinkling at the motion. The woman next to him smiled widely at Aelin, Yrene, was beautiful, and her brown hair fell in spirals down her back, golden highlights standing out. A shining ring on her left hand glinted as she waved at Aelin around her mug.

The final woman, Nehemia, was striking. Her dark skin was smooth and her raven hair, braided down her back, had small elements of gold scattered throughout. Nehemia shot her a sly grin upon introduction, Aelin liked her immediately.

“Guys meet Aelin Galathynius. The new head of humanities, Terrasen native and Fenrys Moonbeam’s roommate.”

At Dorian’s introduction Chaol nearly choked on a mouthful of coffee and Nehemia outright cackled. Aelin needed to ask Fenrys about it.

“Hi Aelin,” Yrene smiled at her, her face kind as she waved a hand at the teachers on either side of herself. “Ignore them, welcome. How is your first day going?”

“It’s fine so far,” Aelin said as she followed Dorian over to where he was fetching a cup of coffee and grabbing her own. “I’ve had a great tour.”

Nehemia laughed again, “Right.” She said sarcastically and Dorian flashed her the finger.

“Where did he show you? I’m sure he probably managed to leave somewhere out,” Chaol cut in, his tone ribbing Dorian again.

“Everywhere, I think. Or at least I’d hope so.” She said, taking her seat next to him, Dorian slotting in on her other side.

“Hmm,” Chaol hummed, shooting an unimpressed look at Dorian who held his hands up, grinning at Chaol.

“I did!” Dorian protested to Chaol who rolled his eyes and sighed a laugh. Aelin laughed along, she could tell Chaol was exasperated, but fond of Dorian.

The dynamic between the group was easy, friendly and teasing, but clearly a very tight knit group. Chaol and Yrene were an adorable couple, very much in love, Dorian had sung at her when she had asked. Nehemia had a killer sense of humour, mostly at Dorian’s expense, but he always laughed along, taking the jokes in his stride.

He had been extremely friendly towards her. Filling all of the gaps in her knowledge without her needing to ask, touching her gently on the arm when he directed the conversation to her.

He was an extremely attractive man, with a charming kind of confidence that she normally would have been all over. Had she met him in a bar, she could see herself sliding into the seat next to him and flashing him a small smile while she accepted the drink he would have offered to buy her.

But they weren’t in a bar, they were at work, and he was technically her boss.

She could hear Lysandra’s warnings, you know it’s a bad idea, she would tut before reassuring Aelin she could find a man anywhere else, that she didn’t need Dorian and his disarming smiles.

Lysandra, as per usual, was probably right.

——

The rest of her day flew by quickly. She had a brief introduction to her classes from Maeve, fresh out of her meeting with the school board, and she had had some time to move her belongings and teaching aids into her classroom. Tomorrow would be her first full day of teaching and she was prepared.

It was only later that evening that she remembered to ask Fenrys about Dorian and his friends’ reactions to his name, even though they had driven home together he had filled the journey with tales of his students and their inabilities to play simple games.

She cornered him in the kitchen as he grabbed a beer from the fridge, resting her hand against the island, blocking his exit as she asked.

“Dorian Havilliard?” He questioned; his face carefully blank.

“Yes, do you know him? He had an interesting reaction to your name.”

More than just that, his friends had outright laughed at Dorian when Fenrys’ name had been mentioned. Surely all of the outlandish situations her imagination was telling her were way off, it had to be something small.

Fenrys sighed, taking a swig of his beer and lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck.

“Dorian Havilliard and I have a history.” He winced as he said the words.

Aelin groaned. She could try to repair any fights they had had; she knew she could definitely blackmail Fenrys into an apology, she liked Dorian and his friends.

“What kind of a history?” She narrowed her eyes.

A blush started on Fenrys’ neck, spreading up to his cheeks.

“A… sexual history.”

“No!” She gasped.

She ran through the interactions she and Dorian had had today. She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks, she had thought he had been flirting with her, complimenting her accent and the way he had been leaning into her. How had she read it so wrong? And Fenrys had a… history with him?

Fenrys bit his lip as he nodded.

“Oh gods,” She groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. “I thought he was flirting with me.”

Fenrys shrugged, unbothered by both her reaction and his own revelation. “He probably was, to be fair. He flirts with everyone.”

It was that moment that Rowan chose to come into the kitchen.

She fought the small wave of embarrassment at the sight of him, at the thought of the conversation they had had when she thanked him for putting her to bed. She hadn’t been sure whether to mention it or not but decided it would have been worse to not acknowledge it.

He had been graceful, reassuring her with a small smile that it was no bother. Which she appreciated, had the roles been switched she would have made sure he got to bed. Well, she would have tried.

And she was grateful, any of her other roommates probably would have left her on the couch. Lorcan probably would have even taken photos of her passed out, probably would have enjoyed seeing how many things he could have balanced on her sleeping form. 

“Who flirts with everyone?” He asked, stepping around her to get to the fridge.

He was dressed in his usual uniform of jeans and a flannel shirt; this one was green, and it complemented his silver hair.

“Fenrys’ ex, one of the teachers at the school.” She told him, but Fenrys shook his head around a mouthful of his beer.

“Not my ex,” He said once he had swallowed. “It was a one-time thing. Years ago.”

It reassured her slightly that she hadn’t been crazy, and that she had probably picked up on the cues from Dorian correctly.

“He was flirting with you?” Rowan turned to her, pulling his own beer out of the fridge, his tan face unreadable.

“I think so,” She pursed her lips.

“Oh,” Rowan’s voice was quiet, and he looked down to the beer in his hand.

“It was probably nothing,” She found herself saying. “I wasn’t flirting back.”

“You could.” Fenrys said from beside her. “It would be fine with me, he’s a decent enough guy. Good in bed too.”

She pushed him on the arm, and he laughed.

“Didn’t need to know that,” She laughed as she pushed his arm again when he made a suggestive gesture at her. “Get out that’s gross.”

“Didn’t think you were a prude, Galathynius.” He teased, but turned from the room, blowing a kiss at her as he left.

She turned to Rowan, who remained leaning against the counter opposite her, picking at the label on his beer bottle.

“Office romance on day one, huh?” He teased her, his lips twitching with the smirk that was threatening to break through.

“Stop that,” She told him. “It was very light flirting.”

He shrugged at her, taking a sip of his beer. 

“If that even, he probably wasn’t. Or maybe I’m making it up.”

“Now you stop.” Rowan told her; his eyebrows drawn as he pushed off from the counter. “Why wouldn’t he have been flirting with you?”

She raised her eyebrow at him, unimpressed, daring him to continue.

“I’m serious,” He continued, stepping over until he was directly in front of her.

Every time they were close she was struck by how much bigger he was than her. And how good he smelled, his pine and snow combination was clean and fresh, she took a deep breath in.

“Why wouldn’t he want to flirt with you?”

She tilted her head up to look at him, suddenly vulnerable in what had previously been a light-hearted conversation, taking in his serious expression. His eyes were earnest as he looked into her own.

“I don’t know,” She started, not drawing her eyes away from his. She wasn’t sure she was able to. “After Arobynn I haven’t been flirted with for a while.”

She loosed a self-deprecating laugh.

He put his beer down on the counter, resting his hand on the counter by her side, his front was almost pressed up against hers now and her breaths came quickly.

“Of course you have,” He told her, his voice soft. “Maybe you just haven’t noticed.”

She swallowed hard.

He picked up a piece of her hair between two of his fingers, smiling gently as he twisted the strand around a knuckle. Aelin liked his smile, it showed a lighter side of him, and he looked especially handsome when he did.

“I think I would notice if guys had been flirting with me.” Her voice was rough as his other hand came down on the bench by her waist. He boxed her in to the island now, close enough to her to share breath, as he hummed in response.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she felt as if an electric current was thrumming below her skin at his close proximity.

“I’m not convinced.” His voice rumbled over her skin, his breath brushing her ear sending shivers down her spine as she tucked her chin down at the sensation. Her action pinned Rowan’s face in the crook of her neck, but he didn’t pull away, instead he pressed his face into the spot where her shoulder met her neck, breathing her in deeply.

His lips brushed against her neck, their touch feather light.

Aelin couldn’t move. She was sure she was panting now; Rowan’s own breaths had increased their pace where she felt his chest pressing against her own. Each brush lighting sparks along her skin.

She needed to be careful, this would look incriminating to any of their roommates if they walked in now, but she couldn’t connect her brain to her body.

While her rational brain was screaming at her to step away and put some distance between herself and Rowan, her traitorous body urged her to press closer into Rowan. Urged her to press her hips against his own and generate the friction she craved.

Rowan’s brain seemed to work faster than her own as he drew his head back with a hiss, leaning on his heels to put some distance between them. She felt the cold where her body now touched only air.

His green eyes were dark, almost taken over by his pupils as he scanned her face.

He cleared his throat and picked his beer back up of the island.

“I think you’d notice.” He told her with a hint of a smile.

He stepped back from her fully and left the kitchen without another word. She heard his bedroom door close before she managed to breathe again.

She screwed her eyes shut as she squeezed her thighs together, trying to convince herself she felt nothing.

He was a rutting good flirt, damn him. She definitely noticed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was posted a little bit later than it was on tumblr because i couldn't figure ao3 out lol, hope you enjoy!

Rowan quickly shut the door behind himself. His heart was racing, a pounding through his chest spreading down to his fingertips where he had braced them against the wooden panel of his bedroom door. He ran his other hand down his face, letting out a strangled groan.

He hadn’t meant to go so far. Hadn’t meant to go anywhere at all really, but he hadn’t been able to pull himself back from the intense look in Aelin’s eyes. Hadn’t been able to draw himself away from the stunned expression on her face, her eyes wide, and her blush, pink lips slightly parted as she gasped at his proximity. He hadn’t been able to pull himself back once he had caught the hint of her perfume, the intoxicating jasmine and lemon verbena scent, so enticing he had wanted to bury himself in her neck and never pull back.

He groaned again. The moment her head had tipped down, pinning him into place in the crook of her neck, had been divine and had sent a jolt of electricity through his body. Her skin had been soft and warm where he had brushed the lightest of kisses down the line of her throat.

He pressed a balled up fist to his forehead as he sent a silent prayer up to the gods.

He pushed himself back from the door, trying to gain some sense of control over his breathing but he couldn’t rid himself of the feeling of Aelin pressed up against him, the brush of her chest against his own, the tickle of her hair against his neck.

He clawed at the tangled strands of thought inside his head, desperately trying to find a semblance of a rational way to look at what he had just done. This was Aelin, his roommate, his friend and Aedion’s cousin. _Fuck_ , Aedion would kill him if he found out.

Aedion played the protective older brother role well when it came to Aelin, and that had extended towards his own friends at times, shooting them harsh looks if they appeared to look at Aelin for longer than necessary or taking the empty seat next to her at the bar before they could get there.

Despite his overprotective nature Rowan knew that if Aedion found out he wanted to pursue something serious with Aelin he would be wary, but ultimately supportive despite the oath they had all sworn. He knew it was mostly in good spirits, with only a sprinkling of genuine threat.

Rowan wasn’t quite sure what he wanted. He knew Aelin well by now, sharing such close quarters would lead to a level of familiarity with anyone, but to take it further? To be able to touch Aelin as he had done, to touch her more than he had, to go further than a light caress of lips against skin.

He knew she owed him nothing, he hadn’t made even a whisper of his thoughts on the topic known to her, hadn’t let any of his fondness shine through their familiar bantering beyond casual friendship. He had messed this up. Aelin probably hadn’t even wanted him to flirt with her, she had been talking with Fenrys about her flirty new co-worker and Fenrys had been encouraging her to go for it. Gods, what had he been thinking?

The thought of Dorian Havilliard flirting with Aelin had got the better of him. The thought that Dorian _could_ flirt with Aelin had clanged through him, hitting every rib as it passed through. Dorian wasn’t her roommate and had nothing holding him back. The thought had struck Rowan with a feeling of longing so strong he hadn’t been able to hold himself back from crowding her against the bench. Making sure her thoughts were of him and not Dorian.

He wasn’t even sure that it was _Dorian_ , he liked the guy, had met him once or twice through Fenrys and while they hadn’t spoken more than a couple of sentences about a sports game that neither of them had been invested in he knew the man was charming.

He needed to see Aelin and apologise to her, explain that he had had a brief lapse in judgement, and that he was very sorry and wanted to move on. She deserved better than him anyway, he knew that. She deserved more than a law school drop-out who worked full time as a bartender, living in a shitty loft with four roommates even though they were all nearing thirty. He didn’t have great ambitions in life, he liked to take it easy and enjoy it one step at a time, he wasn’t a deputy principal with his life all pulled together. Not like Dorian.

He sighed, turning to his bed. His breathing had almost returned to normal in the minutes he had waited, and his body seemed to have calmed itself with the distance now between himself and Aelin. He placed his now-empty beer bottle on the chest of drawers next to his bed and threw himself face first onto the covers. His hips twitched slightly, and he cursed himself again, cursing the visions of fantasies of Aelin in this bed with him.

He could have brushed his lips higher, teasing her behind her ear before coming around to pin her lips beneath his own. He could have lifted his hands from the counter to grasp her hips, pulling her into his body while he pressed her into the counter

This wasn’t him. He let out a growl of frustration as he flipped over, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. He would make this right.

\------

Aelin hesitated outside Rowan’s bedroom door before raising a hand to the barrier. She took a deep breath in, preparing herself before knocking gently three times.

She needed to see Rowan after the events that had happened in the kitchen the night before. She had spent all night tossing and turning in her bed, debating over and over what his actions could have meant. He hadn’t made any advances towards her in the past, their relationship had been relatively laid back, roommates who got along well, but even so she knew she had developed a soft spot for him.

She could never fight the soft smile she knew she wore when he was speaking animatedly about something. Whether it was slamming Lorcan’s favourite football team or having economic debates with Aedion she couldn’t help but be absorbed by the passion he would display. Her attention would always be drawn to his broad shoulders and muscular arms as he would gesture while he articulated his point. She fought the places her mind would go at the sight of his large hands and elegant fingers.

She also couldn’t deny the mounting evidence that he had somewhat of a soft spot for her. Rowan wasn’t open about his feelings, but his usually reserved demeanour definitely lightened when they were together. She also couldn’t forget his tenderness towards her, not only putting her to bed drunk but also tucking her toes under a throw on the couch when she’d complain about being cold. Having a cup of coffee ready for her when he made his own, always with a splash of cream and a cube of sugar, despite him drinking his own black.

Aelin wasn’t quite sure what she was hoping to achieve knocking on Rowan’s door, he might not be awake, or even in, but she had laid awake all night unable to lose the sensation of his lips on her neck. She swore the small spot still burned from his feather-light touch.

“Come in.” His voice startled her, pulling her out of the spiral she had entered, and she took a deep breath before pushing the door open.

Rowan was sprawled across his bed, laptop discarded half open next to him on his grey covers, a broad arm braced behind his head where he lay against his mound of pillows. At the sight of her he pushed himself up until he was sitting on the side of his bed, legs thrown over the side as he turned towards her.

“Hey,” His voice was soft as he smiled slightly at her.

“Hey.” Her own voice was just as soft as she shut the door behind herself.

“What’s up?”

“Not much.” She crossed the floor to take a seat next to him on the bed. Crossing her legs she rested her weight on an arm braced behind herself as she turned towards him. “I was just wondering what you were up to.”

He let out a slight gust of a laugh, turning up the corners of his mouth in a small smirk as he met her eyes. His piercing green eyes shining in the soft morning lighting as he looked up at her through his eyelashes.

“Not much.” He parroted back and the teasing lilt to his voice told her he knew exactly why she was in his bedroom. “Is there a reason you’ve barged into my room so early in the morning? On a weekend to boot.”

She refrained from sticking her tongue out at him like a child.

“I’m just scraping the barrel really, having to spend time with you.”

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head at her sad attempt at a joke. She was normally so much better at this. Rowan shifted his weight until he was mirroring her position, resting back on his arms with his long legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed.

“Really, none of the others are around? Not a single one?”

“Nope, Fenrys is probably still asleep, Lorcan’s working and Aedion is out.” She curled her tongue around her next words. “He’s stayed out. With a lady friend.”

“Really?” Rowan’s intrigue was clear, eyebrows shooting up on his forehead. “Not like him, normally he just brings them back here and leaves it to me to kick them out.”

Aelin laughed. “I know, and I think it might be the same girl as last time.”

Rowan’s eyebrows crept up. “Damn, he must actually like this girl, or she’s rutting good in bed.”

She felt her face twist in disgust at the mention of Aedion taking part in any bedroom activities.

“Let’s all hope it’s the former, okay.” She rested her hand on his upper arm as she nodded enthusiastically at him.

“Right.” He drew his gaze away from her, staring at the spot where his socked feet fidgeted on the floor.

She looked down, unsure of what to say next. She traced the lines on his sheets with a fingernail, noting the chipped hot pink nail polish she needed to take off.

“Look, Aelin—”

“So—”

They began at the same time. She shook her head, gesturing for him to go first.

Rowan cleared his throat.

“Look Aelin, about last night.” He took a breath in before meeting her gaze. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. That really wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

She slid the hand still resting on his arm up to his shoulder.

“You don’t have to apologise Ro,” Her eyes shot down to her lap quickly before she rallied herself to meet his gaze. “It’s not—I’d really rather you didn’t. It’s okay.”

“Well, I’m sorry anyway.”

“It’s really okay, honestly.” She smiled at him, feeling like a schoolgirl speaking to her playground crush, not knowing how to speak to a boy without turning a hundred shades of red. She normally kept her cool, knew how to flutter her eyelashes and smile up at a guy, leaning into him and talking herself up confidently.

Rowan bypassed all that, made her forget every line she’d ever used on a guy, made her forget to brush her hair back across her shoulder before looking up at him and smiling prettily. So quickly he had her wrapped around his finger and he didn’t even know.

But maybe, after last night, maybe he did know. The way he had got into her space had shown her a confident side to him she hadn’t seen before, a side to him that was smooth and charming and sexy. She brushed her thumb gently against the side of his neck, leaning her weight towards him, the mattress sinking sending her even closer to his warmth than she intended.

A muscle in his jaw worked at the motion and he took a sharp breath in.

“Aelin,” His voice was guttural as his hand came up to wrap around her wrist. “Don’t.”

She recoiled as if his words were a slap. Jerking her hand off his shoulder and into her chest as if the fingers he had curled around her wrist had burned her.

“You don’t have to worry about that, I won’t let it happen again. We can just forget it ever happened.”

 _Forget it ever happened_.

Aelin jerked to her feet, her hands fluttering about her sides as she stood. Rowan followed the motion, his eyes not leaving her face, and she fought the blush she knew was rising. 

_Forget it ever happened_.

She had put herself forward and Rowan had rejected her. Obviously. He regretted it; had probably spent the hours she had spent writhing in bed thinking about him wondering how to let her down gently.

Gods, she needed to leave. Get out of here and away from Rowan long enough to compose herself.

“Yeah,” She heard herself say weakly. “Of course. Already forgotten.”

She was abstractly aware of the relief flooding Rowan’s features, his expression released from his frown. She crossed the room to his door, trying to purposefully slow her steps to not look as if she was running away.

She had messed things up, misread Rowan completely, and now she needed to leave.

Fuck.

\------

“Oh good, you’re here.”

Manon Blackbeak’s tone was bored and dripping with sarcasm as she answered her and Lysandra’s front door. Impeccably styled as always her platinum hair was scraped back into a sleek ponytail, her clothes were relaxed but hung perfectly from her slim figure. Aelin knew she herself looked a mess in comparison, hadn’t managed to change from her baggy sweats and an old t-shirt from her high school sports days before leaving the loft.

“Yes.” Aelin narrowed her eyes when Manon made no move to let her in. “Is Lysandra here?”

Manon only shrugged. Fine then. Aelin took a step forward, crowding herself into Manon’s space until she backed up enough for Aelin to slip in beside her.

“Lys?” She called. “You here?”

A thud sounded from down the short hall before Lysandra appeared, midway through tugging on an oversized sweater.

“I’m here,” Lysandra froze as she took in Aelin’s expression. “Everything okay?”

Her friend’s voice was full of concern.

“Yeah, I just need to talk to you.” She said with a pointed look towards Manon, who remained standing by the front door.

For someone who seemed unable to stand Aelin she wasn’t in any rush to leave. After a beat the model shrugged before slinking off into her room and slamming the door.

Lysandra winced at the sound before turning to her, an open expression on her beautiful face.

“I fucked up,” Aelin told her. “With Rowan.”

“Ah, shit.”

Lysandra grasped her hand to lead her into the small living room. The yellow couch she had spent weeks sleeping on before she moved into the loft remained, taking up most of the space in the small room. She flopped down onto it as Lysandra took the spot next to her, tucking her legs in beneath herself as she leaned towards Aelin.

“What happened?”

What had happened? Looking back now it didn’t seem like much of a big deal. Rowan had very briefly flirted with her and then told her not to worry about it. He couldn’t help the miles her brain had ran with the idea, dreaming up imaginary scenarios she should have known were impossible. Impossible because Rowan didn’t like her in that way, he had just been teasing her in response to Dorian. Nothing more.

Her face must have told half of the story because Lysandra reached out to gently squeeze her hand.

“It’s going to sound stupid.”

“Never.”

She really loved her best friend, Lysandra’s statement was absolutely sincere.

“Last night, me and Rowan, got slightly… flirty. And then I spent all night thinking about him.” Lysandra winced. “I’m not done.”

“Ah.”

“And then this morning I went to see him and got hard-core rejected. That’s pretty much it.” She let out a weak laugh.

Lysandra pressed her lips together, taking a moment before saying, “I need details on the flirting, and the hard-core rejection.”

She pursed her lips.

“The flirting was hot.” Aelin laughed as she buried her face in her hands, blushing again at the memory of Rowan’s body pressed against her own, and the whisper of his lips against her neck. She couldn’t get over that image. “Like, all up in my space, had me feeling some things. He definitely kissed my neck at one point.”

Lysandra’s eyes went wide.

“He kissed you?”

“No,” She moaned. “Well, maybe, but not properly.”

Lysandra only raised one, perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“And then he rejected me. And now I’m freaking out about it. It’s _Rowan_.”

“I really can’t picture Rowan being flirty.”

“This is serious!”

“I’m being serious!” Lysandra cried, feigning offense. “How did it even start?”

“We were talking about Dorian flirting with me—”

“Dorian?” Lysandra stopped her.

“My co-worker.” She hadn’t had much chance to fill Lysandra in on all the details of her new school. She definitely hadn’t been avoiding telling Lysandra all the details about this one co-worker in particular.

Lysandra was straight to the point, “Is he hot?”

Dorian was hot. In a polished kind of way. The combination of his curly, dark hair and piercing blue eyes was somewhat princely. His tanned skin and blinding smile were a combination that many men and women, Fenrys included, would lap up.

Her silence spoke enough for Lysandra.

“He is! And then it went from there? Rowan flirted with you after hearing about this Dorian guy doing the same?” Aelin nodded. “He was totally jealous.”

Rowan jealous of Dorian? That changed things.

“But he rejected me?”

The look Lysandra gave her was sharp.

“Again, it’s Rowan.” Lysandra said, as if that simple fact would make all of Aelin’s confusion disappear. Aelin frowned at her. “We couldn’t possibly begin to understand the workings of the male brain.”

Aelin barked out a laugh as Lysandra brought a hand up to rest against her chin, tapping a finger against her lips before speaking.

“Okay, right. Real talk. Were you into it? Rowan flirting with you?”

Aelin bit her lip before nodding.

“But he turned you down?”

“He told me we could pretend it never happened.”

Lysandra hummed in response.

“And this Dorian, was he flirting with you?”

“I guess,” She said mildly.

“You know what you need to do right?” Lysandra held her arm out, palm raised as if the answer to her question was clear. “You need to text this Dorian guy. Forget about Rowan, that’s a bad idea anyway.”

Lysandra was at least partially right. She needed to remember that Rowan was her roommate, and if anything went wrong, she may be Aedion’s cousin, but Rowan was his best friend. And he was closer to Lorcan and Fenrys than she was, despite the lengths she thought she had improved her relationship with them in the short time she had lived in the loft.

“Lys, I don’t know.”

“Do you have his number?” Lysandra was taking no prisoners, now excited at the prospect of Aelin speaking to someone new.

Aelin hesitated but confirmed Lysandra’s question. They had all exchanged numbers in the staff room on her first day. She had Chaol, Yrene and Nehemia’s numbers too, not just Dorian’s.

Lysandra held her hand out, waggling her fingers in a gesture that said hand it over. Aelin reluctantly handed over the silver iPhone, bracing herself for the spectacle that was Lysandra’s flirting technique.

Her friend tapped away on the screen, having known Aelin’s password since they were teens. Eventually she held the screen up to Aelin for approval.

Her text was friendly, casual enough that if he responded negatively it wouldn’t be awkward, but open enough that her intentions could be clear. Aelin hesitated.

“What do you have to lose?” Aelin snapped her eyes up to her best friend’s. Lysandra had a stellar track record with her previous romantic relationships, she had called Arobynn an asshole from day one. Aelin just hadn’t listened.

Aelin grabbed the phone from her friend’s hand, pressing the send button and quickly locking her phone again.

She bit her lip as Lysandra squealed, giving her a light shake on the shoulder and Aelin allowed herself a smile. If Rowan wanted to pretend it had never happened she would too.

\------

She and Dorian had agreed to meet at a bar. It wasn’t fancy, she was in jeans and flats, but it definitely could be a first date location. She slid her fingertips up and down through the condensation that had built up on the outside of her wine glass as she waited for Dorian to arrive.

She was ready for this, Dorian seemed like a great guy and she was attracted to him. Maybe not in the same way as Rowan, his carefully composed look was a complete contrast to Rowan’s cosy and relaxed vibe.

“Aelin, hey.” She turned at the sound of Dorian’s voice behind her.

“Hi,” She smiled as he pulled her into a brief side hug before sliding into the booth opposite her. He smelled good she noted as he signalled to the bartender for his drink, a hint of citrus and something else she couldn’t place.

He was dressed about as casually as she was, a crisp white polo shirt topped with a navy blue jacked that brought out the colour of his eyes. He looked good.

“I’m glad you texted me,” He told her. “I was planning on asking if you wanted to hang out.”

She smiled; this was a good idea. Dorian’s beer arrived and she toasted to him with her glass, watching him over the rim as she took a sip. He was watching her right back, a slight crinkle around his eyes as he smiled into his drink.

Dorian was easy to get along with, he kept the conversation flowing easily asking her about herself with questions about her job and her hobbies. They both loved reality TV, despite Dorian’s protests that it was a guilty pleasure. She had laughed and assured him there was nothing to feel guilty about.

They both loved teaching too and she had been thrilled to find that Dorian was just as passionate about it as her, if not more so. She had rested her chin on her fist, watching him with rapt attention as he spoke, enthusiastically, about how much he loved his students and how much he wanted to help them succeed.

He had bought the following rounds of drinks, respectfully declining her offers to pay for her own or even his. He had smiled at her, a smile that crept up the left side of his cheek more than his right, crooked in a way that she almost blushed.

She didn’t think much about Rowan throughout the night, her mind focussed on the man opposite her. Focussed on the way he would send her short glances when she tucked her hair behind her ear. The way his toes would accidentally nudge her own below the table.

While her text had been open ended, she knew the way it had been taken. It was definitely a date, and one she was enjoying.

When it came to the end of the night, the time limit imposed on them by the closing of the bar, Dorian laid a gentle hand on her lower back as she led the way out. Aelin paused on the street by the exit as she turned to him. His angular cheekbones highlighted in the shadows from the late night street lighting.

Aelin wasn’t sure how she wanted to play it, she had enjoyed the date and Dorian’s company spectacularly. She bit her lip, wanting Dorian to play his hand first, lest she be in for the second rejection of the day. She wasn’t sure whether he’d want to kiss her, or whether he wanted to take it slowly.

He seemed to pause in the same manner she did. Pursing his lips as he glanced between her face and the rest of the street. His hand was still resting on her lower back, the warmth fighting the chill in the air to spread through her entire body.

“I had a great time tonight,” He began, and she nodded her agreement. He took a short breath, considering his next words carefully. “Do you want to get out of here?”

He rubbed the back of his neck slightly, almost bashful in a stark contrast to how self-assured he had seemed so far.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat; this was the line in the sand. She knew what Lysandra would be screaming in her ear if she was here, do it, forget about Rowan. Forget about him the way he wanted to forget about her, and to move past it to just being friends.

Aelin took a step closer towards Dorian, looking up at him through her lashed as she scraped her teeth across her bottom lip. Dorian’s eyes tracked the motion.

“I’d love to.”

And she pressed her lips to his.


	8. Chapter 8

The sounds of slamming cupboard doors and the clinking of glasses drew him into the kitchen, eager to find out which one of his roommates was determined to break every item in the shambles that was their crockery collection.

There were two people in the kitchen; Lorcan was perched on a stool at the breakfast bar, hands wrapped around a mug of steaming coffee and a smug smirk on his lips. His smirk grew at Rowan’s entrance and an anticipatory look came across his dark features as he settled himself in to watch, leaning back into his stool.

The other occupant of the kitchen also had dark hair but had his back to Rowan as he routed through the kitchen cupboards, on the hunt for something Rowan didn’t know. Rowan knew he didn’t live with anyone else with dark hair.

Rowan raised an eyebrow at his roommate, a request for any information he had on who this stranger was tearing their kitchen apart, but Lorcan merely shrugged before taking another swig of his coffee.

The male putting their kitchen at risk finally turned around and Rowan felt his heart sink.

Dorian Havilliard took a moment to take Rowan in, clocking the way Rowan stood taller and broader than himself before eventually smiling, straight white teeth shining as he flashed his Hollywood grin.

“Hey, Rowan right?” Rowan nodded silently, not trusting himself to speak until Dorian revealed more about the reason for his presence in their kitchen. “I didn’t wake you did I? I just don’t really know my way around your kitchen.”

Dorian let out a breathy laugh and Rowan blinked, taking in the scene before him.

This was not what he needed after the spectacle he had made of himself the other night, the day before too if he was honest with himself. He hadn’t meant to push Aelin away so, he had thought that was doing what she would have wanted.

He had thought that she would have wanted to sweep it under the rug, not acknowledge it out of fear of ruining what they had going so far. He had assumed that she had just been going along with it, maybe that was the way she had thought to deal with his mistake. When she had leant in, her slender fingers lightly brushing his neck he hadn’t known what to think, had barely even known how to keep breathing.

 _Forget it ever happened_.

The way her face had fallen at his words had been a catastrophe he hadn’t been able to think fast enough to stop. A car crash he had only been able to stand by and watch.

The evident hurt that had flashed across her face when he had wrapped his fingers around her delicate wrist to halt her had shown him he was wrong. He had been wrong to assume she wanted to move past it. Or had he? _Fuck_ , she was impossible to read sometimes.

Aelin was physically affectionate with all of them, sometimes sidling up to Fenrys on the couch when she was cold or throwing her feet over his own lap when a movie was playing on the tv. He had assumed that was just how she was and that being tactile with them was how she showed her affection. Gods, sometimes she’d even tuck herself under Lorcan’s arm on their walks home from the bar.

 _That_ was a relationship Rowan feared. The two of them could argue until they were red in the face and a minute later burn down the world together. The pair were just as stubborn as one another and the fallout from their arguments could have the other residents of the loft walking on eggshells for days. Or, other times, they would team up, playing a number of outlandish pranks on all of them. He had cursed them the day they had replaced all of his beer in the fridge with alcohol free versions, but Aelin had only laughed loud and bright, and he hadn’t been able to keep a hold of his anger at the sound.

He truly hadn’t intended to hurt her, and the way she had jerked back from him had replayed in his mind all day and night, twisting the knife through him even further with each replay. He had thought he was doing what was right, stepping back and taking responsibility for the situation he had caused, but no.

Again he had fucked up.

And now Dorian Havilliard was in his kitchen, sleep rumpled in a pair of loose grey joggers and a creased white polo shirt.

He sent another brief look to Lorcan, a request for assistance, but the bastard only rested his chin on his fist, half-heartedly attempting to hide his grin.

“What are you looking for?” He managed after clearing his throat, taking another step further into the kitchen.

Dorian paused, briefly looking around himself to take in the state of the kitchen. A number of cupboard doors were left half open in his search. “I found mugs for coffee, and I was thinking of making Aelin breakfast, but you guys don’t have much food in.”

His voice trailed off at the end as he took in Rowan’s growing frown. Any hopes Rowan had that Dorian had been here for Fenrys were destroyed with a single sentence, he knew it had been a slim chance, but he hadn’t been able to hold back the hope that he hadn’t messed up completely.

But Dorian was in their kitchen and was wanting to make Aelin breakfast. His chest burned at the idea of what had taken place in the room across the hallway from his own while he had been sleeping. Sleeping and dreaming about Aelin while she had slept with Dorian.

“Yeah we normally leave it to Aedion to do groceries, but it seems he’s been a bit busy recently.” Lorcan was going to get a punch in a minute, he was having far too much fun.

Rowan shook his head, attempting to assemble his thoughts.

Aelin had clearly taken his advice, almost painfully well, and had forgotten all about their moment at the bench Lorcan currently sat against. He hadn’t expected it to hurt as much as it did, he had been the one to press pause after all, and yet it seemed Aelin was happy now while his chest hurt.

“Right,” Dorian began, slowly glancing between the two roommates. “I guess I’ll go and see what she wants to do. I’ll see you guys around.”

With that he was gone, scooping two cups that Rowan hadn’t even noticed off the counter and sweeping out of the room.

Rowan only turned to Lorcan, who let out a dark laugh.

“What the fuck was that?” He hissed as he skirted around the breakfast bar to come closer to Lorcan. It only caused Lorcan to laugh even harder, letting out a rough guffaw.

“You really should see your face right now,” Lorcan said. “You and _Little Miss Sunshine_ having trouble in paradise?”

“Fuck you,” He said, but it was resigned. “What paradise anyway?”

“I heard about your little sexcapade the other day, in this very room.” Another smug smile.

“It wasn’t a sexcapade,” Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Who even told you?”

“Um,” Lorcan scratched behind his ear. “No-one.”

Rowan cocked his head, he sure as hell hadn’t told anyone.

“You need to find something more interesting to do than gossip about me in your spare time. Get a hobby.”

“I have many hobbies; gossiping about you just happens to be one of them.”

Rowan shot him the middle finger as he crossed the space that led to Aedion’s room, having dealt with Lorcan enough for one day. All he received back was yet another burst of dark laughter.

He paused before knocking and calling Aedion’s name, hoping the golden haired man was inside and not still at his mystery lover’s. Aedion would always be more of a help than Lorcan.

“Who is it?” He heard Aedion call before there was a frantic rustling of bed sheets.

“It’s me,” He said, a hint of confusion bubbling inside, it wasn’t like Aedion to make them wait. He had no modesty at the best of times, choosing to walk around the loft constantly in various shades of undress.

“Right, come in.” Aedion’s voice sounded eventually.

He pushed open the door to find Aedion lounging in his bed, chest bare and hair unbrushed.

“Hey man, what’s up?” His best friend was stiff.

“Just haven’t seen you in a while.” It wasn’t like Aedion to disappear, he normally hung around the loft and the bar most days, and it had been at least three since Rowan had last seen his best friend.

“Yeah, I’ve just, uh, been busy.” He said, shooting a nervous glance off to the side of his room. Rowan grinned and took a seat on the office chair by Aedion’s desk, bracing one elbow on the table at his side.

“I heard you’ve been seeing someone new.” He probed, expecting Aedion to delve into the gritty details of his sex life, anything to take Rowan’s mind off what was probably happening in the other side of the apartment.

Aedion lifted a hand to scratch lightly at his hairline and tugged his duvet up to cover more of his chest, unusually shy in a way Rowan hadn’t expected.

“Hmm,” He hummed when Aedion didn’t respond. “You like this girl then? Aelin said it was a girl.”

Aedion chewed on a lip, again looking away from Rowan, his eyes darting again to the corner of his room before saying, “Yeah, a little bit.”

“Alright!” He exclaimed, leaning forwards and bracing his elbows on his knees. “What’s she like?”

He was curious as to what kind of girl had entranced his best friend, normally Aedion went for blondes, short and slim. Normally quiet girls who would smile politely as Rowan would show them the door in the mornings after. He never normally seemed quite this smitten though.

Aedion blushed slightly and Rowan’s grin grew. “She’s pretty great actually.”

“Yeah? You’ll have to introduce us to her soon.” He wanted to meet this girl, if she had Aedion under her spell so quickly Rowan was intrigued; it had been a while since his best friend had had anything serious.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll have to ask her. We’re taking things slow.”

Rowan nodded his agreement, not wanting to push Aedion too far when the signals were well received.

“Did you know Dorian Havilliard is here?” He asked, changing the subject and moving on to the reason he had come in the first place.

Aedion wouldn’t steer him wrong, and it was time enough for him to admit the way he had been feeling about Aelin. He’d take Aedion’s annoyance, but he wasn’t sure how much Aedion could justify. It wasn’t like there was any chance of him making progress in that way with Aelin now. He cursed himself again.

“No,” Aedion shook his head. “Why?”

“Yeah,” He let out a bitter laugh and looked down to pick at his fingernails slightly. “With Aelin apparently, and I think it’s my fault.”

A noise sounded from inside Aedion’s closet and Rowan paused as Aedion’s eyes grew wide at the sound.

There was a beat while Rowan’s brain worked to catch up. He took in Aedion’s tense posture, his fingers tightly gripping his sheets and his wide eyed expression as he glanced quickly between Rowan and the built-in cupboard.

Rowan sighed a soft laugh, “She’s here right now isn’t she?”

Aedion opened his mouth before closing it again. He took a breath and ran his hand down his face.

“You can’t tell Aelin okay?” He pleaded.

“Why–”

Rowan’s question was answered when the door of Aedion’s closet slowly swung open, revealing a scantily clad Lysandra covered only in a large t-shirt, clearly one of Aedion’s that left her long legs bare. Her face was free of any make-up and her hair was unbrushed. She bit her lip as a slow blush spread across her high cheekbones, nodding at him slightly in a shy greeting.

Rowan’s mouth dropped open, swinging his head between the two.

“No,” He began, unable to stop the mischievous smile from taking over his lips.

Lysandra came fully out to perch on Aedion’s bed, tucking her exposed legs under the covers and leaning next to Aedion at the headboard.

“You can’t tell Aelin yet, okay,” She looked to Aedion before turning back to Rowan. “I’ll tell her soon I promise, I just… This is new.”

Rowan took in the sweet smile on her lips and the adoration in Aedion’s gaze as he watched her. He hadn’t seen his best friend behaving like this in a long time, not since their first year of college and Aedion had been stunned by the new proximity of beautiful girls.

He had come a long way since then, learning how to charm and how to sleep with guys and girls without any level of seriousness, but his expression as he took in Lysandra was a throwback to his years of innocence.

It was that look that had Rowan pausing, he didn’t want to keep secrets from Aelin when he knew they could upset her, but he couldn’t take away that look from Aedion. Or the mirror on Lysandra’s face.

“I—You have to tell her soon,” He sent a sharp look to Aedion. “You know I can’t lie.”

“Please, you have to. Just for a little while.” Aedion’s voice was softly pleading and Rowan felt his brows draw into a frown. Not at his friend’s choice, but at the idea of lying, no matter how indirectly, to Aelin. He owed her better than that. 

“Shit though, I can’t believe it’s _you_.” He looked to Lysandra who smiled bashfully at him. “And this is serious now?”

Aedion’s smile was sickly sweet as he grabbed Lysandra’s hand, twining his fingers through hers before turning back to Rowan. “Yeah, it is.”

Rowan sighed, “Well, I’m happy for you guys.” He really was. “But you have to tell Aelin soon. Does anyone else know?”

“We haven’t told anyone. But Lorcan and Fenrys probably know.” Aedion was avoiding Rowan’s gaze.

“Why would they know?” He was sceptical.

Aedion took a deep breath before looking up at Rowan.

“It started when we were out with them.”

Rowan paused, running through a mental catalogue of the times the four of them would have been out without himself and Aelin. The number was low, in fact, he could only think of one occasion.

“This,” He pointed between the two of them sat on the bed. “Started from truth or dare?”

At their embarrassed nods he let out a humorous laugh. Sensing that he wouldn’t get Aedion’s full attention now, or be able to speak freely, Rowan stood, unfolding his limbs from the small chair he had been perched on.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll speak to you later okay?” He said nodding at Aedion who nodded back.

They bid him their goodbyes, Lysandra already tucking herself into Aedion’s side as he left the room, only then did he spot the black patent-leather heels slung in the corner of Aedion’s room by the door. His shook his head as he closed the door, happy for his best friend, but he would definitely need to seek him out soon. He needed a sounding board, someone to help him work through the tangle that was his feelings for Aelin.

Aedion would set him straight, it was what he needed. Some harsh truths could only set him down the right path, the path he had so far strayed from so wildly. 

\------

Aelin woke to an empty bed, but the sheets were still warm on the other side meaning Dorian couldn’t have been gone long. She glanced around the room and spotted his jeans and trainers at the foot of her bed, so he hadn’t snuck out on her. Good.

She flopped back onto her pillows, letting out a breathy laugh as she considered the events of the night before. Dorian had been a great date, chatty and agreeable all night. She had really enjoyed his company and hadn’t held back from pressing her lips to his at the end of the night.

He had kissed her intently on the pavement outside the bar, twisting his hand through her hair and roaming the other down her sides until he had pulled back insisting they get a cab _now_. She knew her place was closer so she risked it, hoping she wouldn’t come face to face with Rowan as she brought Dorian through the door.

Back at the loft they had kissed for a while, lying on her bed, neither taking the steps to further the endeavour along until eventually Dorian had pulled back, his lips swollen from her kisses.

“Is this… doing anything for you?” He had asked mildly, as if he was afraid of the answer.

Aelin had grimaced, fingers now clammy where they rested on the back of his neck. It wasn’t that he was a bad kisser, he wasn’t at all, she just hadn’t been able to shut her mind off. Hadn’t been able to lose herself in the kiss.

“Honestly?” He nodded. “Not really.”

She winced as she spoke, readying herself for the potential catastrophe that could be about to crash into her, but Dorian had only sighed and rolled off her to lie on his back.

“Oh thank Gods.” He had laughed. “I was wondering at what point it was too late to feign a personal emergency.”

She scoffed and slung a lazy punch to his chest, rolling onto her side to look at him where he watched her, blue eyes relaxed as he took her in. There had been a moment before they had both burst into laughter, Aelin burying her face in her pillows as Dorian covered his face with his hands, rubbing his temples with his fingertips.

The relief she had felt had been edged with a level of unease at what to do now, but Dorian was a master at removing any awkwardness and just suggested they throw a film on Netflix because it was _far too late_ for him to be bothering to head home. She had managed to find him a pair of grey joggers at the back of one of her drawers, she wasn’t sure who they belonged to, but it was most likely Aedion over any of her other roommates. Hopefully they weren’t Rowan’s.

She was relieved the night had clearly had no effect on their budding friendship in the morning light as Dorian crept back into her bedroom, bearing a mug of coffee in each hand, and smiling widely at her. He handed one to her before taking his place on her bed next to her.

“Morning,” He said. “How you feeling? Any lingering desire for me?”

She almost snorted her mouthful through her nose before managing to swallow and shooting him a glare.

“You wish,” She told him.

He seemed unaffected by the events of the night before and she was grateful. Dorian was a good friend, and she valued the night they had spent in each other’s company, no matter the end it had reached. At least now they could be friends without either of them questioning if there could be more.

“Your roommates are not the most… friendly,” He told her after taking a small sip.

She sat up at that, pulling a pillow behind herself to prop her up.

“Oh no,” She groaned. “Who was out there?”

“Rowan, and a really tall guy with dark hair who didn’t tell me his name.”

She cursed them both mentally. Lorcan for being an unfriendly fuck and Rowan just for being there.

“That’s Lorcan, I’m sorry. Ignore them both.”

He waved her off, but she paused, gnawing on her lip while she debated her need to know about what was said between him and Rowan against the desire to keep any of what had happened with Rowan a secret from Dorian. Eventually, curiosity won.

“What did they say to you?”

“Nothing really.” He took another sip of his coffee and she hung on the words, waiting for whatever came next. “I don’t know if it’s Fenrys or you, or something else, but I don’t think they like me very much.”

He looked to her expectantly and she sighed.

“I’m sure Lorcan liked you fine, he’s like that with everyone. Rowan and I just… It’s complicated.”

He raised his eyebrows, prompting her to continue.

“It’s nothing much, there’s just this sense of, I don’t know. With him and me, we get along you know, but then he does _something_ , and I wonder if it could ever be more. More than just roommates or more than friends.

“I don’t know if I’m reading too much into things, you know. Is he just being friendly, and I think way too much about it when he doesn’t mean anything by it, or is it more?” She paused to laugh, fully aware that she was rambling. “Because I guess I did—or do, like him a little bit. And then yesterday, in the interests of full disclosure, he kind of shut the door on that ever happening. So I texted you.”

She looked down to her hands, wringing them out slightly, hoping Dorian wasn’t upset with her less-than-pure intentions with him.

He surprised her though, laughing full and loud, gripping his mug tightly as his body rocked with the force of his laugh.

“What?” She asked petulantly.

“ _Gods_ , Aelin, just completely using me.” He laughed and she gasped.

“Not using you,” She assured him. “I really did have a good time last night, you’re my friend.”

He rolled his eyes, still laughing at her so she knew it was in amusement rather than genuine anger and she blushed, stubbornly fighting the laugh building in her chest.

“Seriously, though.” His expression sobered. “Rowan? The one with the tattoo?”

She gave him an exasperated look and Dorian held his arms up in surrender.

“Not that I’m judging, of course. He’s just not the one I’d go for.”

Her expression morphed into one of confusion. She hadn’t chosen to feel how she did about Rowan, it would make her life a hell of a lot easier if she didn’t, but she had no control over it. She was powerless against his small smiles and rumbling laughter, weak against the sharp cut of his jaw and the lengths of corded muscle that wrapped round his towering frame.

Dorian took pity on her and tucked an arm around her shoulders, resting his stubbly cheek against the crown of her head. She laid her face on his chest, the vibrations of his voice rolling through her as he spoke.

“I’d say, in my limited experience with him,” She snorted a laugh as he began. “That Rowan isn’t as uninterested in you as you seem to think.”

She swallowed before lifting her chin to look at him. She wouldn’t allow herself to hope that Rowan felt any way different to how he had acted with her.

“Dorian,” She chided. “You don’t have to lie. I’ll be ok, get over it soon enough.”

“I’m not.” He threw his other arm across her, linking his fingers across her shoulder. “You should have seen his face when I suggested taking you for breakfast.”

“No.” Aelin hesitated, weighing up the information Dorian had to offer. He shrugged at her, as if to say _believe what you want_.

“Honestly, I just need to get over it.” She sighed, burnt out from all the time she had spent milling over the same details again and again. “Lysandra is right, it’s a bad idea anyway.”

“I’ve seen worse.” Dorian laughed. “Had worse myself, in fact.”

“Worse than having a crush on your roommate?”

“Yeah, I’ve actually slept with your roommate, we’ve been over this.” He told her with a smirk.

Aelin groaned, pulling out of the circle of his arms.

“I don’t know why I’m putting up with this.”

“You love it, and we’re definitely making lover-boy jealous the longer we stay in here.” He waggled his eyebrows at her dramatically.

“Get dressed.” She deadpanned.

“Alright,” He stood from her bed, walking slowly over to his jeans where they were folded neatly on her floor. “Let’s get breakfast though. You can tell me all the saucy details about the two of you then.”

“Dorian, I’m serious.” She pleaded. “I need to get over this.”

He nodded, realising the time for joking about her and Rowan had passed and slipping out of the joggers and into his jeans.

Aelin took in Dorian where he stood, hands on hips at the foot of her bed. He had turned out to be an incredible friend, one she was becoming increasingly grateful for. He had taken her confession, and for the most part _rejection_ , in his stride, only pausing the check that she was alright. Her heart swelled with affection for her friend and she gave him a soft smile in appreciation.

“Now hurry up, you have absolutely nothing in and I’m starving.”

She rolled her eyes at his impatience, but the fondness remained as she threw on her outfit and followed him out of the door. Her eyes only lingered on Rowan’s door opposite her own for a second, some soft rock music filtering out through the gap below the wooden panel. They could be friends; she could feel for him the same as she felt for Dorian. She’d make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a Lysandra POV of some recent events coming out soon (before chapter 9) so keep an eye out for that!


	9. Chapter 9

“He was friendly when he first came in,” Chaol’s normally subdued tone was full of energy as he spun his tale, eyes wide with excitement as he looked towards Aelin. “But then so quickly he goes completely crazy, shouting and ranting so loud in my face that Maeve has to come in and see what the problem is.”

Yrene laughed fondly at her husband as she rested a hand on his shoulder where she sat across the wooden staff room table from Aelin, “You could hear it all the way down the corridor.”

Aelin laughed as she took in Chaol’s wide eyed expression and Dorian’s restrained laughter, Yrene’s gentle grin and Nehemia’s cool smirk.

Her first parent-teacher conference at the new school was this evening, and to her absolute delight, her friends were busy spinning their horror stories. Admittedly, she was nervous for the event, and even though it wasn’t her first time it was always an unnerving experience at a new school. It was her opportunity to introduce herself to the parents as Miss Galathynius and show them who she was, what she had, and to prove to them that she was the best choice for their children.

Realistically, she knew she had no reason to be nervous, her class were a great group of children, they all tried hard and engaged enthusiastically with her lessons, but meeting their parents for the first time was important. Making her first impression as an educator was important, and she knew that people sometimes unfairly judged her. At her previous school she knew some of the parents had made some unfair and incorrect assumptions about her but she had tried not to let it bother her. Had tried to brush off their barely hidden insults about her styles of teaching and even her choices of clothing. She couldn’t change peoples’ opinions but she could try to change their lasting impressions of herself.

Dorian had assured her that the majority of the parents at the school were great, most were pretty chilled out as long as their child wasn’t falling too far behind, which Aelin knew hers weren’t. That said, it was Dorian who had prompted the story time session in the break room, wordlessly picking up on her nervousness and launching into every horror story he could remember from his years teaching.

Since their ill-fated affair he had cemented his place in her life as one of her closest friends, rivalling only Lysandra in level of familiarity and they had spent an increasing amount of time together. From coffee runs to lounging around the loft watching movies she enjoyed every moment they spent together and she was comfortable that there was no remaining awkwardness from their brief tangle.

She hadn’t told anyone the outcome of their date yet, she hadn’t had much time to catch up with Lysandra since, and it wasn’t something she was particularly keen to tell her roommates. As much as she loved them there were times that their typical guy nature made her hesitant to share, and her failure to sleep with her date was not something she felt like sharing with them.

She was especially reluctant to share that piece of information with Rowan, he had told her to forget about their moment in the kitchen, and she had tried. It just hadn’t worked out quite as she had planned. But she was resolved, she would get over him, and if having him think she was dating Dorian told him she was, she wasn’t complaining.

“It took five minutes for us to even figure out what he was yelling about.” Chaol continued, flashing her an exasperated look.

“Which was?” Aelin asked, already grinning in anticipation of whatever ridiculous answer Chaol could give.

In her experience Chaol was a by-the-book teacher. She liked him, he was pretty smart, straightforward and an involved and ambitious teacher, she couldn’t imagine him doing anything deserving of being shouted at by a parent.

“Chaol had, completely unreasonably,” Dorian drawled sarcastically, tossing his unstarted apple between his palms, “decided to offer his students a quiz for the last class of the week instead of one more hour of curriculum teaching.”

Yrene sketched a mocking gasp and Nehemia held a hand to her chest as she rolled her eyes at the story.

“Could you imagine such a thing?” She laughed, eyes dancing with mirth as she grinned over to Aelin.

Aelin shook her head in mock horror at Chaol, unable to fully hide her smile as she laughed along.

“How could you?” She asked, half laughing at the absurdity of the parent’s rage and half at Chaol’s over the top attempt at a dejected expression. “You aren’t actually making me feel any better about later, by the way.”

Yrene reached over to squeeze her shoulder, “You don’t need us to do that, they will all love you I’m sure.”

Aelin needed more of Yrene’s optimism in her life and admittedly the woman’s kind smile was infectious. She was also right, why wouldn’t they love her?

——

The documentary on the television hadn’t fully captured Rowan’s attention, it was something about an animal in the rainforest and he had missed the part where it’s name was given, but it would do for a lazy afternoon while the rest of his roommates were at work. The afternoons were one of his favourite times of the day, he had the loft to himself to read or watch or listen to whatever he wanted in the usually shared spaces rather than his ordinarily messy and somewhat cramped bedroom.

Being the only one of his roommates to not work in the daytimes had its ups and downs, the freedom and space was a definite pro, but sometimes it could be lonely sitting around the loft on his own, and the days Lorcan was off with him after working a shift were often ones he enjoyed the most. His friend had a sarcastic and wicked sense of humour that worked well with Rowan’s relatively blunt demeanor. He’d never tell him that though.

Of everyone in the loft he had known Lorcan for the shortest amount of time. Technically, but he didn’t count the years of Aelin being in his periphery as knowing her. They had met through Fenrys, and Rowan wasn’t convinced that even Fenrys knew how he had come to be friends with the surly male, their personalities weren’t ones Rowan would have expected to be friends, but years later Lorcan had managed to cement himself as one of Rowan’s closest friends.

He checked the time on his phone as the sound of the loft front door caught his attention, none of his roommates should be at the loft at this time.

Seconds later Aedion came into view, already shucking off his tie before launching himself onto the couch next to Rowan with a deep sigh. Rowan slowly turned his head towards his best friend, waiting for him to reopen his eyes before raising his eyebrows.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” He began. “But why are you here?”

Aedion laughed before rolling forwards to sit upright on the sofa.

“Turned in the final piece for one of our biggest accounts this morning so we all got the afternoon off.”

“Nice,” Rowan nodded, Aedion probably worked the hardest of all of them in the loft. He worked for a marketing firm that had a bunch of high profile clients and he spent many nights in the office working overtime. Rowan shared those unpopular hours, but was grateful he didn’t have the early mornings too. “What are you doing for the rest of the day then?”

Aedion shrugged. “Thought I could spend some quality time with you my friend. Maybe find out what you wanted to talk to me about the other day.”

Aedion’s smirk was predatory, and Rowan felt like a deer in the headlights. He opened his mouth then closed it again.

He had been more than lucky to have gotten away with it for so long, he was surprised Aedion had managed the few days of Rowan saying nothing before giving in and straight up asking.

Since Aelin’s date with Dorian the man’s presence had become a regular feature of the loft, each visit reducing Rowan’s desire to admit any of his feelings about Aelin to anyone, let alone Aelin herself. He had tried to avoid being in the room when they were snuggling on the couch or had quickly changed the topic when he had come up in conversation.

Message received. He was at least glad that Aelin seemed happy, and it was his own fault that it wasn’t with him. He had told her to forget it ever happened and she had. Why Aedion wanted to make him talk about it now was anyone’s guess, he just wanted to deal with it alone. Preferably by not thinking about it, or at least trying not to.

“Oh nothing,” He brushed it off. “It doesn’t matter now.”

Aedion raised a golden eyebrow, unimpressed with Rowan’s clear denial and he winced internally. He should have known better than to assume Aedion would have been satisfied with that.

“Are you sure?” Aedion’s question was all too innocent. “You sure it wasn’t about anyone in particular?”

Rowan gritted his teeth, knowing he was just going to have to let this play out.

Aedion took a moment, pretending to ponder his next words and letting Rowan stew in his anticipation. “Not even my darling cousin?”

Rowan felt his cheeks begin to burn as he chewed on the inside of his lip. Aedion was a smug son of a bitch, smiling at Rowan like a cat who got the cream.

Rowan took a deep breath in. “Don’t fucking tell anyone, okay.”

Aedion’s expression dropped into something slightly more serious.

“Pinky swear,” Aedion grinned at him and Rowan flashed him a glare.

“I’m definitely not saying anything if you’re not being serious.”

Aedion cleared his throat, making a show of sobering his expression. “I’m serious, okay, now go.”

“So you clearly know something went down between me and Aelin,” That was as good a place to start as any he supposed. “How did you even find out about that?”

“Lysandra.” Aedion’s voice was almost dopey as he said the woman’s name. Gross, even though he was happy for his friend it was gross.

“Nice to know you and your girlfriend have nothing better to do than gossip about me.” Rowan frowned.

“Believe me, we have better things to do,” Aedion’s grin took over his whole face. “It’s just when we’re done we move on to pitying you…”

“I said be serious.” Rowan said bluntly, embarrassed enough as it was.

“Sorry, sorry.” Aedion held his hands up. “Continue.”

“There isn’t much more to be said.” He paused, realising the almost uncomfortable truth in his own words. “She’s moved past it anyway, like I told her too, so that’s it. We’re good, no danger of that.”

The look Aedion gave him was pure pity and Rowan looked away fast.

“Ro,” His friend’s voice was soft as he said his name, but he struggled for anything more, clearly reading Rowan better than he ever wanted to be read.

Rowan shrugged. “It’s fine, we’re all good.”

Aedion opened his mouth to speak but Rowan interrupted before he could get a word out.

“You need to tell her about you and Lysandra.” He could only see the secret ending in disaster, and now he was involved. He owed it to Aedion to keep the secret, but the guilt of keeping it from Aelin was eating away at him.

Aedion sighed, “I know. We will, soon. It’s just, when? You know?”

“You need to do it soon.” Rowan told him, feeling somewhat like a parent scolding a child. “You’re only going to upset her, and keeping it all a secret longer is just going to make it worse.”

Aedion looked down to the couch they sat on, avoiding Rowan’s eyes.

“I know.” He sighed.

“I don’t want her to get hurt.” It was as much as Rowan was willing to admit out loud.

“I don’t either.” Aedion’s tone was defensive and Rowan sighed.

“Now,” He began, pushing off the couch and standing above his friend. “I have a shift at the bar, you coming?”

Aedion half-smiled up at him. “Alright, but I’m not paying for any of my drinks.”

Rowan scoffed, “When do you ever?”

Aedion rose to his feet, shrugging, “Just making sure.”

Rowan rolled his eyes, feeling as Aedion always made him feel, relaxed and amused with the usual hint of mild irritation.

——

The evening had passed relatively quickly, all of the parents she had met so far had been lovely and were well engaged in their children’s lives and education which Aelin always appreciated. She only had one parent left to meet, the father of her student Evangeline, a bubbly young girl who Aelin adored. The young girl was inquisitive and tried hard with anything Aelin threw at them, a perfect student in Aelin’s eyes.

A knock on her classroom door sounded and she jumped to her feet, calling out for them to come in as she rose. The man who came through her doorway was striking, his golden hair shone and his green eyes were bright. He was dressed in a sharp grey suit, his white shirt unbuttoned at the collar and his tie was missing.

He held a hand out for her to shake and she caught a brief glance of a tattoo on his wrist, one that looked almost like a snake, peeking past his expensive looking watch.

“Archer Finn,” His voice was low and smooth, as he flashed her a polished smile.

“Aelin Galathynius,” She shook his hand firmly and smiled widely. “Please, take a seat.”

The man slid smoothly into the seat opposite her, and she forced her mind to focus on the task at hand, and reminded herself that this was one of her student’s fathers. No sign of a ring, her unhelpful mind added.

“Thank you, Miss Galathynius,” He folded his hands in his lap. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to speak with you about Evangeline’s progress.”

Aelin grinned. “As have I, Evangeline is a fantastic student, the passion she displays in the classroom is phenomenal. Her artwork– she displays a level of true talent.”

“Yes,” His tone was clipped. “That is what I have been hoping to talk to you about.”

Aelin felt her smile freeze.

“Evangeline will not be participating in any art activities from this point onwards, I don’t believe they are of any value. To put it bluntly, they’re a complete waste of time.”

Aelin was frozen, paused in a state of shock at the man’s words.

“I unfortunately have to disagree–”

He held a hand up to stop her and she recoiled.

“Please, Miss Galathynius,” He huffed out a condescending laugh and Aelin felt her blood begin to boil. “As her father I believe I know what is best for Evangeline.”

“And what is that?” She asked dryly.

Archer Finn seemed to take a moment, raking his eyes from her head to her toe before meeting her gaze again. She could tell the look hadn’t been one of appreciation and she bristled.

“What Evangeline needs is a teacher who takes her education seriously, someone who understands that painting her pretty pictures is a waste of time.” The sarcasm in his voice had her clenching her jaw, but she tried to rein in her temper, remembering that she was still new to the school.

“Mr Finn, I–”

He held a hand to her face again and stood, buttoning his suit jacket as he did, and Aelin slowly rose out of her chair.

“Mr Finn, I have a masters degree in children’s education, I know the value of creativity in learning.” Aelin could hardly keep her voice steady as she spoke, barely concealing the anger the man in front of her had managed to unleash inside her in such a short space of time.

The man seemed to sneer at her words, looking down his nose at her as he frowned.

“You may well have, and I’m sure it was worth every penny to you.” He smirked at her, crushing her with only a handful of words. “Either way, Evangeline will be seeing a private tutor during your creative hours.”

The scorn in his voice burned her, hitting her in a deep part of her soul that wasn’t often exposed. She knew she was right, knew that she knew what Evangeline needed, knew that her methods of teaching had merit and worth. This sad excuse for a father was blind and arrogant if he thought he knew better than Aelin, but she was trapped. What more could she say to change his mind?

In her silence he had crossed the room to pause by the door before turning back to look at her where she stood dumbfounded behind her desk, clenching her fists at her sides and trying to compose herself.

“I’m glad we had this chat, Miss Galathynius.” With that he was gone, taking his smug and condescending atmosphere with him.

Her breath rushed out of her in a gust, burning her throat as she held back the tears that threatened to fall. She couldn’t believe him, Mr Finn. The audacity he had to walk into her classroom and speak to her like that.

She dropped back into her seat, resting both of her hands against the cool wood of her desk and focussing on all the knots and whorls in the wood, breathing deeply in and out as she centred her thoughts. She almost couldn’t believe how her evening had ended up and she let out a brief snort at the idea that maybe her story could now beat Chaol’s from this morning.

A knock at her door snapped her to attention, if Mr Finn had come back for another go at her she wouldn’t be able to bite her tongue this time. Her fears were sedated when a familiar head of dark curls poked around the door frame.

Dorian’s smile was bright and easy as he walked towards her, perching on the front of one of her student’s desks.

“So?” He asked as he crossed his ankles in front of himself, the portrait of a male completely at ease.

Aelin only shook her head, unable to sum up her final visit in a few words.

“Have you ever taught Evangeline Finn?” She managed, hating how destroyed she sounded even to her own ears.

Dorian barely managed to cover his wince.

“Ah,” He sighed. “You met Archer Finn. How bad was it?”

She looked at the floor, holding back the flood that wanted to break through, she refused to cry in school over a parent, no matter how much he had riled her up.

“Bad,” She managed but her voice betrayed her, letting a crack rip through the word.

Dorian was around the desk and at her side within a second, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“What did he say?” Dorian asked, his tone gentle as if not to startle her.

Aelin sniffed. “Oh you know, the usual, dismissing my teaching and belittling my degree.”

She let out a self-deprecating laugh as she looked to Dorian whose brow creased at her words.

“Don’t listen to him. You know he’s not right.” She knew his words were earnest, but they couldn’t keep the doubt at bay and she shrugged out of his hold.

“I don’t know,” She looked away.

“Come on,” Dorian tried. “Let’s get a drink or something, take your mind off it.”

“Thanks, Dorian. But I think I just want to go home and be alone.”

Dorian’s mouth twisted as he considered it, probably weighing up whether or not to try again. Eventually he relented.

“Text me if you need anything, okay? I’m here for you.”

She lightly squeezed his hand before rising to pack up her things. His offer hadn’t tempted her, she did want to be alone, but maybe a drink wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

——

The bar was relatively busy, a few customers every so often had him drifting in and out of conversation with Aedion. Lorcan had joined Aedion at the bar not long after they arrived, grumbling about something or other that Rowan soon avoided, turning back to another customer after dropping off Lorcan’s pint.

A brief lull allowed him to drift back to his friends, wiping down a few spills along the bar as he went.

“It’s the fucking worst, all right.” The dark-haired giant complained, words muffled by the strong hand he ran down his face.

Rowan turned to Aedion for explanation who merely shrugged before lifting his empty glass to Rowan. He grabbed it and turned to refill it as Lorcan spoke again.

“I didn’t sign up for any of this, stupid regulations and reforms.”

Lorcan was clearly in a talking mood tonight. Rowan met Aedion’s eyes, a silent challenge, begging the blond man to speak first but Aedion just leaned back in his seat, taking a large gulp of his beer. Rowan flicked him the middle finger before turning to Lorcan.

“What is?”

Lorcan turned the force of his glare to Rowan who shifted against the unexpected heat.

“My stupid boss.”

“What about them?” Aedion finally joined in.

Lorcan sighed, a frustrated sound as if explaining it would be hard work. Rowan grinned a sharp flash of teeth at Aedion who rolled his eyes at their friend’s dramatics.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I want to drink.” Lorcan finished his drink in a final swig, placing the glass before Rowan ceremoniously.

Rowan scooped it up, sketching a mocking salute at his friend. “That, we can do.”

As he turned he spotted Fenrys making his way over from the door and he grabbed another glass to fill as the golden-haired man took his seat. He dumped the drinks in front of his friends with little finesse as Fenrys spoke.

“Why is Aelin sitting in the corner on her own?”

Aelin?

“Aelin’s here?” Aedion asked as the four of them turned to look where Fenrys had pointed.

Sure enough, Aelin was tucked away in a booth in the corner of the room. He hadn’t noticed her come in and Rowan could see the glum expression on her face even from a distance.

“Is she okay?” He managed.

“She doesn’t look okay.”

The three of them swivelled to look at Lorcan, matching looks of disbelief across each of their faces.

“Has she said anything to any of you?” Fenrys asked. “Anything to Lysandra?” With a look to Aedion who shook his head.

“Should we go over?” Aedion asked, an unsure twist to his mouth.

“If she wanted to sit with us she’d be here.” Lorcan said bluntly.

“Shut up, asshole.” Rowan narrowed his eyes. “I’ll take her a drink.”

——-

The glass of wine was cool in his hand as he made his way across the bar, skirting round tables of customers as he went.

“Hey,” His voice was soft as he reached Aelin’s booth, lingering by the edge of the table as she looked up at him.

His heart jolted at the expression she wore. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide and red-rimmed, her plush pink lips twisted into a pout. She swallowed before speaking and the hurt in her voice tore his heart again.

“Oh. Didn’t think you’d notice me here.” Her voice was quiet as he dropped into the seat opposite her and pushed the glass towards her.

“It’s kind of my job to notice who needs a drink,” He said equally quietly, leaning forwards and pressing his arms against the table between them. He had hoped his words would bring a smile but Aelin pursed her lips, debating, before reaching towards the glass and taking a sip.

At least there was that.

“You don’t– I mean, you don’t have to answer… If you don’t want to, but,” He didn’t usually stumble over his words so much. “Are you okay?”

Aelin’s refusal to meet his eyes pretty much answered his question, but he still waited for her to speak.

She blew out a breath, the air teasing the fair strands of hair around her face as she looked towards the ceiling then back down to him.

“Not really.” She said as she looked away from him again.

He spared a glance over to the bar where his friends sat, watching him and Aelin, each with expressions of concern. Even Lorcan for all his grumbling before Rowan came over.

“What happened?” He asked as gently as he could.

Aelin took a sip of her wine, glancing around the bar and spotting their friends who quickly jumped back into their own conversation before resting her gaze back on him.

She shrugged, putting her glass back on the table before speaking.

“One of my student’s parents basically told me I’m a shit teacher today.”

“Aelin no,” The words left him in a rush, utterly raw in his desperation to reassure her. “Aelin, you have to know you’re not a shit teacher.”

She looked up at him through her eyelashes, her pout still standing strong.

“What did they say?”

“Just that my degree is worthless and that I don’t know what’s best for the kids.”

Asshole. Fucking asshole.

If he ever saw the asshole who had said those cruel words to Aelin he’d– He didn’t know what he’d do but it would hurt.

“Aelin, don’t listen to them. That’s not true.”

“It’s not?” Her question, in combination with her soft sniffle shattered him.

He reached out to lightly grasp one of her hands in his, gently toying with her delicate fingers.

“Of course not Aelin. You’re an incredible teacher.”

She drew her hand back to take another sip of her wine.

“How would you know?” She asked. “You’ve never seen me teach.”

“I don’t need to Aelin. I know you, and you’re everything a good teacher should be. Kind, caring, patient, passionate-”

“Okay,” She interrupted.

“I’m serious Aelin, promise me you won’t believe a word that asshole said.”

She scoffed, looking away from him yet again.

“Aelin?”

“Okay, I promise.” Her tone was resigned, but at least she had agreed. He didn’t know how much help he had managed to be, but he hoped at least a small part of her had listened.

“What are you doing sitting alone anyway? You can always come to us with things like this.” He knew without a doubt that the others would agree.

She brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and Rowan’s fingers itched to follow the motion but he held his hands together, now under the table. She shrugged as a faint blush crossed her cheeks and Rowan fought the warmth blooming inside him at the sight.

“Come and drink with us.” He said, nodding his head towards where the others were sitting at the bar. “Salvaterre’s miserable too so you won’t be alone.”

At that, Aelin’s lips twitched as the hint of a smile ghosted across her face, it was the closest he had seen all night and he’d take it.

“Why?” Her voice was quiet.

“Other than the usual?” He joked and she finally cracked a real smile, small but still there, and the relief that flooded through him was like lightning. “I think it’s something about his work or his boss, I don’t really know.”

He slid himself out of the booth and held a hand out to her, his final request, if she really didn’t want to join them he could accept that, but he knew he’d still keep an eye on her for the rest of the night.

Thankfully she stood, grabbing her things and leading the way over to their friends, and he sent a silent prayer of thanks to the gods. Over her head he saw Aedion flash him a thankful smile. She flopped onto a stool next to Fenrys as Rowan slid back behind the bar.

“So,” She turned to Lorcan, barely missing a beat. “What are you crying about now?”

Lorcan didn’t hesitate before lunging into his story, his own subtle way of making sure Aelin was alright and not dwelling on her issues.

“My new boss is an asshole. Turns up in Rifthold fresh out of headquarters in somewhere called Perranth, and thinks everyone should just bow down or something. Now, first of all, I’ve never even heard of Perranth,” He paused to take a bitter swig of his beer.

“Me neither,” Fenrys chimed in.

“It’s in Terrasen,” Aelin said after a sip of her own wine. The heaviness from before didn’t weigh on her face anymore and Rowan turned to serve another customer, hiding his smile. “I think I went once when I was a kid.”

Lorcan frowned at her but Rowan could tell it lacked it’s usual heat.

“Whatever,” Lorcan continued. “The point is, I’ve worked here for years, I know Rifthold and how things are done. Captain Lochan has been here all of five minutes and apparently knows all the improvements we need to make.”

The curl of Lorcan’s lips as he hissed his boss’ name prompted a small laugh, the guy must be a total hardass to have Lorcan so riled.

“What’s wrong with the improvements?” Aelin asked and Lorcan sighed.

“Nothing is wrong with the improvements,” He muttered and Aelin finally laughed, the tinkling sound washing over Rowan and settling into his bones.

“So what’s the problem?” Aedion asked after a moment, the question that they were all thinking and Lorcan shot him a glare, this time not lacking any heat.

“The problem is the Captain. So controlling and everything has to be done in exactly their way, constantly on me about my reports as well.” He rolled his eyes, clearly over talking about his boss and Rowan couldn’t help from poking the bear one last time.

“Why don’t you invite the Captain here? I don’t know any problem a free beer couldn’t solve.”

“Absolutely not.” Lorcan said, shaking his head.

“Well I, for one, want to meet the famous Captain Lochan.” Fenrys grinned. “Especially if it would annoy you so much.”

“Don’t.” Lorcan said, a hair’s width below a growl.

“Why not?” Aedion joined in and Rowan watched the smile settling on Aelin’s lips at their friends’ antics.

He shook himself, laughing along as Lorcan slugged Aedion in the shoulder.

“Maybe find something to take your mind off it?” Fenrys suggested and Rowan knew where he was going would be fun. “Get a pet or something?”

“Just watch me, boyo.” Lorcan bared his teeth around the grin threatening to take over his own face. His pretend displeasure only just winning the battle.

The smile on Aelin’s face struck him again in its beauty, and he forced his attention away from her and back to the idiots now suggesting outlandish animals Lorcan could bring home as a pet.

He bit his lip as Aelin suggested a lion in response to Aedion’s tiger and thanked the gods again that she was smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

Aelin blinked at the message on her phone, the screen shining brightly in contrast to her dark room.

_ Mother: Hi Fireheart. In the area, will pop by to see you this morning! _

She squinted at her phone, specifically at the message from almost two hours ago, before quickly managing to turn the brightness down and roll over in her bed. She shoved a glass on her nightstand aside to make room for her phone as she sunk back into the delicious warmth of her bed. One more hour couldn’t hurt on a Saturday. 

Wait. 

Her mother.

At the loft. 

With her roommates.

She shot up, slinging her covers off her bare legs, exposing herself to the shock of cool air and launching herself out of bed to throw open her blinds. 

Her room wasn’t too bad, she gathered as she took in the small pile of clothes thrown across the back of her plastic desk chair and the scattering of papers throughout the room. Most of them contained half-drafted lesson plans and ideas for school. She could tidy them in no time but the rest of the loft could be another story altogether.

Aelin stepped back over to her bed, the cheap carpet as standard in any rented apartment was scratchy against her bare feet, and picked her phone up off the nightstand to send a request for assistance to Lysandra.

_ How quickly can you get to the loft? _

Lysandra’s response was almost instantaneous, _ pretty quick, not at my apartment rn. what’s up? _

Aelin screwed her eyes shut, tugging her unbrushed hair into a haphazard knot on the top of her head. Her mom loved Lysandra, maybe she could divert Evalin’s attention away from the spectacle that would be her roommates. 

Evalin hadn’t met any of her roommates yet, hadn’t had a chance to make a visit to the loft at all since Aelin had moved in. Her parents still lived in Terrasen so their visits usually stuck to big holidays and special occasions and she missed them in the months between their visits. 

Aedion aside, she had managed to keep any details other than the necessary from her mother about the guys she lived with, telling her only the basics that calmed her when Aelin announced her plan to move into a loft with her cousin and three,  _ male _ strangers. Her parents hadn’t exactly approved, and she suspected that Aedion was the only reason they hadn’t protested further.

Aelin winced, she knew her mom was a notorious gossip and if she heard even a whisper of whatever it was that had gone down between herself and Rowan she wouldn’t be able to help herself from meddling. 

She sighed, a frustrated sound as she paced across the small space next to her bed, she really needed to stop thinking of herself and Rowan as anything other than roommates. Friends was the limit to what she would allow herself. Friends was good. 

So far, distracting herself with Dorian was yet to provide any results in her plan to stop thinking too much about Rowan.

_ My mom is coming!  _ She tapped out on the small screen, knowing she didn’t need to provide Lysandra with any more details than that. 

_ Lys: shit haha on my way _

Thank the Gods for Lysandra. 

Either way she needed to warn the guys, at least Aedion would be aware of the storm heading their way. 

As she stepped into the main room she spotted her roommates, bar Aedion, crouched over a spot on the floor between their couch and the small wooden coffee table that sat in the middle of the room. A number of white carrier bags and cardboard boxes were scattered around them. 

They definitely needed to be gone before her mom arrived. 

“So cute,” She heard Fenrys murmur as she strode over to them.

“I need your help.” 

At the sound of her voice each of them spun to face her, their expressions a mix of varying levels of guilt. She watched Fenrys and Rowan share a look, the former widening his eyes at the latter before looking away.

She was somewhat used to that look from Fenrys, the look of mischief with a splash of guilt, usually displayed when he had finished her jar of peanut butter and not replaced it or failed to put the toilet seat back down after using the bathroom. Generally harmless, but she readied herself for what was about to come. 

Slowly Lorcan rose out of his crouch, a small black bundle cradled abnormally gently in his arms. 

“Don’t freak out,” He began, his rough voice was low as he adjusted his hold. She was definitely freaking out now. 

“Lorcan, what is that?” She demanded slowly, her mind running through the number of wild scenarios she could only expect from Lorcan. 

Rowan and Fenrys stood either side of Lorcan, Fenrys grinning at her and Rowan watching her with an expression of restrained excitement. 

“Aelin,” Lorcan held his arms out in front of himself, stretching until the small black bundle was in front of her. “Meet Hellas.”

The tiny black blob made a noise, halfway between a squeak and a mewl. It shifted slightly to reveal itself as a kitten, its body only the size of Lorcan’s palm. It’s fur black as night with a white spot across its left eye. The kitten sat comfortably in Lorcan’s hands as he held it out to her. 

“A cat?” She asked plainly, stunned as her brain struggled to add up the steps. “I didn’t think you were serious?”

She knew his boss was annoying him, and she backed Rowan’s idea to bring him to the bar. She was sure she could sell Lorcan enough to get his boss to go easy on him and free drinks from Rowan could only sweeten the deal.

He had been so gentle with her in her upset. His words had warmed her heart and filled her mind in the days since. Kind. Caring.  _ Passionate. _ They had been exactly what she had needed to hear after her exchange with the asshole that was Archer Finn, and the fact that the words had come from Rowan had added a special touch that she hadn’t been able to forget. 

She raised an eyebrow to her roommates and Rowan only shrugged, a small smirk playing his lips as he looked across Lorcan’s shoulder to her.

“I just thought he was sweet.” Lorcan muttered defensively and she realised how her shock was doubtlessly being portrayed. She registered the hands on her hips and her raised eyebrows. She considered her lack of make-up, unbrushed hair and outfit consisting only of her flimsy nightgown only a second later.

She let out a soft sigh, reaching a hand up to lightly pet the kitten on his wee head. The fur brushing her fingertips was impossibly soft and she let out a gasp as the kitten nudged his head into her touch and purred. 

“I love him already.” She whispered, her voice melting into a coo as the tiny kitten had her already wrapped around a finger. Or claw, she supposed. She glanced back up to her roommates, “Are we allowed to have him?”

At that Fenrys let out a laugh and she caught Rowan biting his lip, reigning in the snarky comment she knew wanted to break through. 

“Not exactly,” Fenrys began playfully and stepped forwards towards her, raising a hand to lightly scratch the kitten on the head as he did. “But as long as no-one tells the landlord we’ll just keep it our little secret.”

She smiled back at him, a matching co-conspirator’s grin. 

“Anyway, I need you guys to give this place a tidy.” They had already begun to scoff before she reached her next words. “My mom’s on her way.”

Their protests died immediately and turned to exclamations of confusion. 

“What? Why?” Lorcan asked, cradling the kitten back into his chest.

“Is she coming to meet Dorian? Is Dorian coming here?” Fenrys questioned. 

She frowned at him.

“Why would she be coming to meet Dorian?” 

She didn’t miss the way Rowan looked sharply at the floor. Shit, he still thought- 

“To meet your new boyfriend?” Fenrys suggested and she could only just manage to bite back her sharp bark of a laugh. 

“Dorian’s not my boyfriend.” Even to her own ears it sounded like a question.

Rowan’s head snapped up, the weight of his stare pressing on her, and she fought the blush that rushed up her neck, forcing herself to only look at Fenrys as her words registered. 

“But…” Fenrys seemed to be struggling to process her revelation. “All of last week?”

She chanced a look to Rowan and his stare was filled with something she couldn’t place. 

Wariness? Worry? 

No, not quite. Relief? 

She looked away quickly. 

“We’re friends.” She told Fenrys, even though she knew exactly how it had looked and until now it had even been her intention, but she couldn’t pretend anymore. She needed to be clear, even if it set her back a few steps.

“Gods, Aelin,” Fenrys said with a brief chuckle. “You need to stop bringing him around the loft if you’re not dating him.”

“What?” She blurted. “Why?”

She thought Fenrys liked Dorian, their very brief history aside, she didn’t think there was any animosity there. There wasn’t any on Dorian’s end, that she knew. 

“I’ll have to sleep with him again if you keep bringing him round here looking like that all the time.”

Aelin blinked, and her sharp howl of laughter burst out of her faster than she could contain. 

“Stop,” She told him, working to reel in her laughter, but her reprimand was mild as she pondered bringing that up to Dorian, wondering what Dorian would say. 

“Anyway, tidy this up. Please.” She waved a hand around their common area and each of them nodded obediently. “And let Lysandra in when she gets here, she’s on her way.”

Rowan’s expression darkened at her words, his brows pulling into a frown, but she didn’t have time to unpack that. She didn’t think Rowan had a problem with Lysandra, they barely knew each other beyond the brief times she had brought Lysandra to the bar to spend time with the guys.

Without a further word she breezed back into her bedroom. She didn’t have time to shower before her mom would likely arrive so she shucked on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before attempting to tackle the birds nest that was her hair. 

\------ 

He knew Aelin had caught his expression at the mention of Lysandra’s name and how she was ‘ _ on her way’ _ . He hadn’t been able to fully bury the anger he felt knowing damn well that Lysandra was in the room behind them, having stayed over for what felt like the hundredth time. He hated that Aedion was still asking him to lie to Aelin. 

Either way he should have been able to control himself more, but the sight of Aelin in her flimsy nightgown had thrown him. The comparison of her fair skin against the solid red of the fabric was divine, the colour complimenting her remarkably with her bright eyes and golden hair. The strip of black lace across the deep neckline had only pulled his gaze into her chest, drawing attention to the subtle swell of her breasts. He knew that the skin there would be impossibly soft. 

That image wouldn’t leave his mind for a while, he knew that for sure, and he cursed himself, yet again, for thinking of his roommate in such a way. He supposed it wasn’t his fault it had come as such a shock, normally in the mornings she threw on a modest robe, which while cute and comfortable didn’t do much to inspire fantasies like the ones currently running through his mind. 

Even as rumpled as she had been he hadn’t been able to focus on anything other than her. The strands of hair that hung down from her sloppy styling had made her look cosy in a way that he craved to brush them aside and rest his fingers in the hollow of her collarbones, tucking her firmly into his side. 

He begged his brain to refocus and turned to Lorcan who was cradling the new kitten in one hand and arranging the numerous boxes of cat accessories that he had ordered with the other. 

“You can put him down you know,” Rowan said as he began to stack the boxes, assuming they would just throw them in their bedrooms before Aelin’s mom got here. All Lorcan’s response consisted of was a very much expected glare as he cradled the kitten tighter into his chest.

He didn’t know much about Aelin’s mom, he could only assume she’d be fiery and beautiful if her daughter was anything to go off. A beat passed of him handing boxes and bags to Fenrys before Lysandra tiptoed out of Aedion’s bedroom and over to them. 

He knew he was frowning at her from the apologetic look she gave him, gnawing slightly on her lower lip as she approached him. 

“I’m sorry,” She whispered and he almost rolled his eyes, sick of the games she was playing. He understood why they were waiting, but he hated it either way.

“You know what I want to say,” he said bluntly, alone with her now that Fenrys and Lorcan had scarpered to make sure the rest of the flat was presentable for company. 

“I do,” She said softly. “But I do appreciate what you’re doing for us.” 

“Soon Lysandra,” He said before she crept over to Aelin’s bedroom door, not looking back to where Aedion now joined Rowan on the couch. 

“You don’t need to waste your breath,” Aedion said as he took his seat. “We’re going to tell her once Evalin’s left, I would have done it today but I didn’t know she was coming over.”

Rowan grunted as he picked up the remote to throw something on the television in the background, waiting for the imminent arrival of one Evalin Ashryver Galathynius. 

\------ 

It wasn’t long before Aelin and Lysandra emerged from her room, the blonde dressed casually in a tight pair of jeans that highlighted the curve of her rear. Rowan had to look away, biting the inside of his cheek harshly, before he did anything he knew he’d regret. 

He wasn’t sure why knowing that she wasn’t dating Dorian made any difference, he knew he needed to move on, but for some reason it had made _a_ _whole lot_ of difference to him. He couldn’t help but think back to all the interactions they had shared since her date with Dorian, most of them mundane things like brushing their teeth in the bathroom at the same time and glancing over to each other in the reflections in the old mirrors, which at the time he had dismissed the intimacy of, but his brain now ran wild cataloguing every look and touch they had shared. 

He supposed he had made a few seemingly incorrect assumptions about Aelin and Dorian, but he hadn’t exactly been looking for confirmation of their relationship.

“Looks good in here,” Aelin’s voice startled him out of his pondering. “Where did Lorcan take the cat?”

“You guys have a cat now?” Lysandra gasped, her hands rising up to her chest as she looked around the room searching for any sign of the tiny kitten. 

Aedion shot her a grin and Rowan bit his lip, again, as his friend spoke. “Apparently so.”

“I think he’s keeping him in his bedroom for now.” He told her as she took her seat next to him on the couch, the warmth of her knee seeping through the denim she wore as her leg pressed lightly against his own. 

“Right, well my mom should be here-” A loud knock sounded at the door. “Right about now,” She finished with a laugh.

Aelin smiled as she rose from her seat and stepped over to the door. Rowan swallowed the nerves rising in his chest as he wiped his palms down his trousers and ignored the grin Aedion shot him. 

Aelin opened the door and was immediately tugged into a crushing hug by a woman around the same height. Rowan couldn’t see much of her mum as her face was hidden in Aelin’s neck, but he could hear Aelin’s laugh as she squeezed her mother tight, the sound so full of joy it made him smile and he clocked matching smiles on Aedion and Lysandra’s faces as they took in the display. 

Finally Aelin’s mother released her, holding her at arm's length and cataloguing every detail of her daughter’s appearance before releasing her fully and turning towards where they sat. On his right, Aedion jumped up, striding over to wrap the woman in a hug. 

“Auntie Ev, good to see you,” His voice was bright as he embraced his aunt. 

Rowan stood and felt Lysandra do the same, in unison they walked over to greet the guest. 

“And you Aedion, you’re looking well.” 

Her voice was similar to Aelin’s, but the strength of her Terrasen accent was the most striking difference between the two. He hadn’t realised how subtle Aelin’s own accent was until he heard her mother speak, the harshness of her  _ t _ ’s and the rolling way she spoke her  _ r _ ’s far more defined than Aelin’s. 

Evalin turned to him, her sharp eyes identical to those of Aelin and Aedion in their colouring taking in every detail of him, and he fought the urge to run a hand through his hair as he waited under her inspection. The bright blue and golden ring in the centre of her eyes was characteristic of the Ashryvers and her hair fell straight in the golden tones of the Ashryver line but hers was cropped shorter than her daughters, the ends brushing her chin in a smart bob. 

Her face was Aelin in twenty years, the planes of fair skin only just beginning to crease, the only show of her age on her beautiful face. Knowing her daughter Rowan had guessed that Evalin Ashryver was a beautiful woman, and he wasn’t wrong, her face was graceful and striking as she smiled a straight, white smile at him. 

“Rowan I presume?” Her lips rose into a smile as she extended her hand to him.

“Yes ma’am,” He slipped his hand into hers and shook it firmly. “Great to meet you.”

Aelin’s mum only let out a short laugh, identical to her daughter who stood beaming at her side. 

“And you, but please, call me Evalin.” 

He nodded, shy under her appraisal. “Of course.”

Evalin turned to Lysandra, wrapping her into a tight hug as Fenrys and Lorcan re-entered the room. Fenrys was positively beaming at Evalin, thrumming with excitement at the events slightly outside of their usual. 

Evalin’s eyebrows raised at the newcomers and Rowan knew she was taking in the three males, himself included, that lived with her daughter. He swallowed, hoping he could slide under the radar, pretending his thoughts for Aelin were just as platonic as the ones he knew Lorcan and Fenrys possessed. 

“Mrs Galathynius,” Fenrys didn’t hesitate before wrapping Evalin into his arms, and she laughed breathily as he squeezed her. “So good to finally meet you.”

She laughed again as he released her and Rowan felt Aelin drift to his side as they watched Fenrys make a lasting impression on her mother. She was clearly charmed by their curly haired roommate and Aelin shared a look with him, faux fear barely masking the pure joy on her face. He knew she missed her parents while she was here in Adarlan, and the unadulterated happiness she wore warmed him deep inside.

Lorcan introduced himself with his usual charm and Aelin pinched his side at his own eye roll. He batted her hand away with a laugh, staring down at where she stood closely tucked in by his side. He schooled himself when he noted the expression on Evalin’s face, the twist of amusement across her lips as she watched his interaction with Aelin. 

Once introductions were complete Aelin turned to lead her mother further into the loft. 

“I’m not sure what you want to do today. We could order lunch in, unless you wanted to go out, just the two of us?”

Evalin smiled as she took in the loft and the group of them, still stood somewhat nervously by the front door. 

“Lunch here sounds good, I’d like to get to know the gentlemen you live with a little more.”

It was the way she focussed her attention on him as she spoke that had him swallowing, if she had an ounce of intelligence that Aelin had she likely already knew every thought that had passed through his mind regarding her daughter. Shit. 

\------ 

Aelin smiled as she glanced around their large dining table. Her mom was merrily chatting away with her roommates, conversation flowing easily as she got to know the men Aelin now shared her life with. It seemed to be going relatively well, Fenrys was charming her mom as expected, and even Lorcan was friendly enough. She knew it was putting her mom’s mind at ease meeting them and confirming that they weren’t serial killers or any other nightmare her mom had probably dreamed up.

She placed her mom at the head of the table, as far away from Rowan as possible, and made sure she and Aedion took the seats either side of her. They had ordered in from a local sandwich shop that Aedion swore by and she knew her mom was taken with the local produce. 

Rowan kept relatively quiet throughout the conversation, only chipping in when he was directly addressed, but she didn’t think there was anything  _ wrong _ particularly, maybe just some shyness that she had now bypassed in the weeks that she had known him. 

“Aedion,” Her mom turned back to her cousin, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “Your mom says you’re seeing someone new. Tell me all about her.”

Silence fell across the table, and Aedion paused his chewing before finally managing to swallow slowly. 

“Mom,” She laughed. “Aedion isn't seeing anyone, he’s the eternal bachelor.”

She often teased her cousin about his promiscuity, and it was all in jest, but no-one else at the table laughed. In fact, they were all actively avoiding her gaze, even Lysandra. Lorcan and Fenrys were staring at the table, and Rowan was suddenly finding the contents of his sandwich very interesting. 

She turned to Aedion, confusion clearly written across her face. She would know, right? If Aedion was seeing someone new. What reason could he possibly have for keeping it a secret from her? And why was everyone else acting weirdly with her? Especially Lysandra, Lysandra was her person, not her roommates’.

“I guess I must be wrong,” Her mom started, sensing the tension filling the room, and she almost accepted it, almost carried on, but the stiffness with which Aedion sat had her turning to him, her voice quiet with delicate vulnerability. 

“Aedion?”

He looked to his side, briefly sharing a look with Lysandra where she sat at his side, before turning back to Aelin and she knew. She knew from that one look why everyone was avoiding her gaze. Why her mom had acted as if this was something she would know. 

“Aelin, we-” 

She cut Aedion off. “Lysandra?” 

She knew there would be no denial, but she needed to hear it from her friend, needed Lysandra to look her in the eyes and tell her she was seeing Aelin’s cousin. 

“Aelin, I’m so sorry,” Lysandra began, placing her hands on the table as if to placate a small child or a wild animal. 

She stood sharply from the table, the sound of her chair scraping against the wooden floor had her cringing but she needed to leave. She left her food there, she wasn’t hungry now anyway.

No one made a move to follow her from the table and the bang of her bedroom door slamming shut echoed through the silence of the loft. 


	11. Chapter 11

If she was honest with herself, she should have seen it coming. 

She had stopped pacing a while ago, after the anger that had launched her from the dining table had faded into something quieter, only to collapse onto her bed and stare at the ceiling. Only one question ran through her mind, over and over again. She wondered how she could have been so blind. 

All of the times Lysandra had somehow been able to get to the loft faster than it should have taken to cross the city from her own apartment, Aelin had dismissed all of those as lucky coincidences. 

Of the few times they had hung out in a group and Lysandra always ended up sat next to Aedion, she had never really paid much attention and had assumed it was coincidental. 

All the times Aedion had smiled a softer smile to Lysandra than he showed to anyone else… All the times Lysandra had changed the subject whenever Aedion came up… Gods, how hadn’t she noticed?

She supposed the worst part wasn’t that it had been kept a secret, she knew she could see herself doing the same, at least for a little while, had the roles been reversed. 

The worst part about it, the reason she had made the spectacle that she had in storming out, was that everyone seemed to have known but her. Even her mom had been more clued in, whether or not she had known the finer details about who Aedion’s new girlfriend was. Aelin hadn’t even known Aedion was dating someone. 

More than that though, Lysandra was her best friend. She and Lysandra had been each other’s number one since they were children, they had been there for each other through everything. 

Aelin had been there for Lysandra signing her first modelling contract, she had swung round to her apartment with the most expensive bottle of wine her budget had allowed and they had celebrated well into the dark hours of the night. Lysandra had been there when Aelin graduated college, and had panicked about the next steps. Lysandra had picked her up, with a printed list of schools she could study for her masters at, with the best ones for the subject highlighted in hot pink. 

To Aelin, they were as close as sisters.

Lysandra hadn’t even met her roommates until a couple of months ago, and the fact that they had all known before Aelin was just… painful. And embarrassing. Oh Gods, and her mom was still out there with all of them.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands before a short knock at her bedroom door had her pulling her hands away from her face and sitting up.

“Aelin, it’s me.” Lysandra’s voice was timid through the door. “Can I come in?”

She looked to the ceiling, quite content to let Lysandra stew for a minute before sighing and saying, “Yeah, come in.”

Lysandra’s apology was written clearly across her face as she slowly pushed the door open and came into the room. Her green eyes were wide and her brows were pulled into the center, it was a nervous expression she had seen many times over the years. Aelin waited for her to shut the door before making eye contact and Lysandra hesitated, her breath catching in her throat before she came over to sit at the end of her bed. Aelin shifted up until her back was resting against the headboard and waited for her friend to speak. 

“The first thing I want to say is sorry,” Lysandra’s tone was pleading, searching Aelin’s face for any sign of forgiveness. 

Aelin only waited for her to continue. 

“We should have told you a long time ago, I should have told you a long time ago, and I’m so sorry that I didn’t. I owe you better than that.”

“Yeah,” Aelin sighed. “You should have. You do.”

Lysandra’s frown pulled deeper at her words. They didn’t often fight like this, it wasn’t like them. They had always been so open and honest with each other throughout their whole friendship that usually any disagreements were over before they really began, and Lysandra’s honesty was one of Aelin’s favorite things about her. Lysandra could be counted on to tell you the truth, whether or not you’d like to hear it. 

“The only reason I didn’t tell you was because at first, I wasn’t sure what it was.” Lysandra said, toying with the end of a glossy curl of her hair. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you when it got more serious, I just wasn’t sure how to tell you.”

“I get that, Lys, I do. It’s just- Why did everyone else know but me?” 

The words sounded childlike as they came out, but she was struggling for a more articulate way to convey the way she was feeling. Embarrassment was probably number one, but she was hurt pretty deeply underneath.

“You can tell me anything; I thought you could have told me this.” 

“I didn’t mean for the others to find out, especially not before you. Lorcan and Fenrys were just kind of there, and Rowan definitely wasn’t supposed to find out.” Lysandra stretched one hand out across her sheets, reaching marginally towards her. Aelin didn’t move. It didn’t really matter that they weren’t supposed to find out, they still had.

“Just tell me how it happened. You and Aedion.” She just needed to understand. 

“It was just kind of casual at first,” She nodded again. “Then… I don’t know. I really do like him Aelin.”

She couldn’t deny the tugging of a smile at her lips, as upset as she was about the way she had found out and the slight stinging of betrayal from being kept in the dark, she was truly happy for the two of them. She had even wondered in the past whether to introduce them, she knew they would have worked well together. 

They were both kind of serious, old souls at heart, and she always enjoyed every minute spent with either of them. They had the same outlook on life, a kind of muted work-hard-play-hard mentality that meant they were both driven to succeed but never at the expense of a good time. 

“I am happy for you two, you know that right?”

Lysandra smiled a soft smile, and Aelin knew this could quite quickly get weepy. 

“I’m just upset you didn’t tell me.” She finished.

“I know, Aelin,” Lysandra’s tone was resigned now. 

“I just- Aedion? Really?” From the look on Lysandra’s face she knew her joke had fallen flat. 

Lysandra took a breath, her own eyes now narrowed and her frown had mutated from concern to anger.

“Rowan, really?” She imitated Aelin’s tone perfectly after years spent teasing each other. 

Aelin cocked her head, her cheeks heating slightly. 

“That’s different, and you know it.”

Lysandra let out a short gust of a laugh, and she took a deep breath, almost steeling herself. 

“That’s different because I actually made a move for what I wanted.” The words _unlike you_ went unsaid, but still clanged through the silence of her room. 

Aelin clenched her jaw at the taunt, shocked that her friend had hit so low. 

Lysandra’s own eyes were wide, as if she couldn’t quite believe the words that had crossed her lips. 

“Get out.” She said quietly. 

“Aelin, I-”

“Get out,” She repeated, pushing herself up from her bed and striding over to the doorway. She swung the door open, the light from the hallway spilling in across the floor to where Lysandra sat frozen on the foot of her bed. 

“Aelin, I’m-” Lysandra tried again as she stood, but Aelin only held an arm out, pointing towards the empty doorway. 

“Just go Lysandra.” Her friend only paused for a second before striding past her into the hallway. She heard Aedion’s voice and the front door of the loft open before she closed her own bedroom door again. 

– 

No one had spoken after Aelin left the room. A cold kind of shock settled across the dining table where Aedion and Lysandra’s gaze each burned holes into the wood. Lorcan and Fenrys were silent, natural for Lorcan, but a proven defense mechanism from the blond in times of discomfort. 

He felt an almost whiplash-like kind of confusion. The afternoon had been more than pleasant up to that point, the joy Aelin had been exuding was infectious, but that easy level of camaraderie had been brutally ripped away by the revelation. 

He cleared his throat, and Aedion finally glanced up to him, guilt clearly written across his face.

“That wasn’t how that was supposed to go.”

Rowan sighed, “How were you really expecting it to turn out?”

He didn’t want to say I told you so, or maybe he would have, had it not been at Aelin’s expense. 

This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid, every single time it had come up with Aedion, and even Lysandra, he had made his thoughts on the topic clear. It was the only hope he could hold that Aelin wouldn’t be upset with him that he had kept it a secret. His own involvement in the secret was tearing him up almost as much as the thought of Aelin alone in her room.

“I really didn’t mean to cause any drama,” Aelin’s mum began, and truth be told, Rowan had almost forgotten she was there; he had been so focussed on Aelin. 

So far he had been avoiding direct eye contact with the Ashryver matriarch as much as possible and he shouldn’t have been as nervous as he was. Supposedly, she was just one of his friend’s mothers. Truthfully though, he was getting ahead of himself. 

“It’s not your fault, Auntie Ev,” Aedion turned to place a hand on his aunt’s arm. 

“Maybe I should go and see if she’s alright,” Evalin made a move to stand from the table, but Rowan switched his attention to Lysandra, who had finally looked up from the table. 

“No,” She said softly, the first words she had spoken in a while. “I should go, it’s my fault.”

Rowan had nothing more to offer her than a brief nod. 

All he wanted to do was to go and check that Aelin was alright himself, he wanted to make sure that she wasn’t questioning or blaming herself, he wanted to ease any of the embarrassment he knew she was likely feeling. But, he accepted that it wasn’t his place yet, Lysandra had to go first. His own apologies could come later. 

Lysandra stood, clenching her fists at her sides, almost steeling herself to face Aelin. They all watched in silence as she crossed the space to Aelin’s bedroom door and there was an uncomfortable pause after she knocked while she waited for permission to enter. 

When she finally slipped inside the room, closing the door behind herself, a collective sigh was released. 

“Well,” Fenrys broke the tension between those remaining at the table as he stood with a flourish. “We’ll take one for the team and get started on these dishes.”

Lorcan stood without a word and began collecting the plates dotted around the table, uncaring whether they were finished with or not. Rowan very much doubted that this dinner would continue and a part of him wished he had thought to make his exit, but he was stuck now.

He turned back to Aedion once they left the room, but he hardly knew where to start. He had said his piece many times over the past few weeks and there was no use rehashing it now. 

“You know that’s not how I wanted it to go,” Aedion said.

Rowan nodded at the unspoken apology in his friend’s eyes then shrugged.

“It’s not me you should apologise to.”

“I know.”

He was very aware of Evalin watching their back and forth, so he chose his next words carefully.

“I’m sure she’ll forgive you,” Evalin nodded along with him, and she gently patted Aedion’s hand that still rested on her arm as he continued. “You made a mistake. Own it, apologise, then we can all move on. Honestly, I’ll be glad to see the back of any secrets.”

He finished with a short laugh that Aedion joined him in, gratitude shining in his blue eyes. 

“Yeah,” He sighed and turned to his aunt. “I’m sorry about this, I’m sure you weren’t expecting this when you came by.”

She laughed, a light and easy sound. “No, maybe not.” She looked towards Rowan, and he almost balked under the weight of her stare. “It was very nice to meet all of you either way.”

Damn, she was observant, so much like her daughter that it almost scared him. He was about to return the sentiment, had got as far as opening his mouth, when the sound of Aelin’s bedroom door interrupted.

“Just go Lysandra.” Aelin’s voice sounded empty and he locked eyes with Aedion. Shit. 

Lysandra came back into the room a second later and winced as she realised Aelin’s mum was still at the loft. 

“Can we go? Please?” Her voice wavered as she approached the table. 

“What happened?” Aedion asked as he stood, Lysandra hadn’t even been in there for long enough for them to move to the couch. She only shook her head and Rowan shifted in his seat.

“Please, Aedion?” 

There were definitely tears in her eyes now, what in the Gods name had been said in that room?

“Okay, I’m coming,” Aedion relented, stepping around the table to link his fingers through Lysandra’s. “Auntie Ev, I’m so sorry, will you be alright?”

Aelin’s mum wore an expression that was far too calm, a clear mask of whatever was brewing below the surface. A marked comparison to Aelin, who he thought was generally pretty easy to read. 

“Of course,” she said with another glance to Rowan. He really wasn’t keen on how well she appeared to read him. Aedion nodded and tugged Lysandra, who was trying and failing to muffle her sniffles, towards the front door of the apartment. 

Once they were gone, he finally turned to face Evalin head on, but she only stepped around him, patting him lightly on the shoulder. 

“I’ll go,” She said and he watched her cross the space to Aelin’s bedroom in a stunned kind of silence. 

–

She waited in her bedroom after Lysandra left, she hadn’t wanted any of her roommates to see her cry. It had been enough vulnerability when they had seen her after her exchange with Archer Finn and she didn’t want them to think that was all that she was. 

The whole Arrobyn thing, which in itself was months ago now, had thrown her and in combination with the highs and lows of losing her job and getting a new one so quickly meant her roommates had seen her through a string of bad days recently, and it wasn’t ideal, but she knew she needed to get back to herself soon. 

Her mom didn’t knock before waltzing into her room and pulling her into a hug. She felt like a child again, tucking her face into her mom’s chest while she wrapped her slender arms around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. 

“Is it always this exciting around here, Fireheart?” 

She sniffed before tilting her head up to look at her mom, she knew she was a sorry sight to see with red eyes, mascara tracks likely down her cheeks and strands of hair glued to her cheek by the tears. She would probably clean herself up for anyone other than Evalin, but as it stood, even midway through her twenties it felt good to be held like this by her mom.

“No,” She said quietly, enjoying the warmth she felt and closing her eyes again. 

Her mom squeezed her shoulders before asking, “What happened in here with Lysandra? I thought you two would have made up no problem, I thought you’d have thought they’d work well together.”

She shrugged, pulling back from the circle of her mom’s arms to wipe at her tears. 

“We almost had, and I am happy for them, they do go well together.” She hesitated before speaking again. “I tried to make a joke and it didn’t go well. Then Lys said something about me and- um, about me and I…” She trailed off with a shrug. 

Her mom smiled at her, all too knowingly. 

“What Lysandra said didn’t have anything to do with the man I know is probably biting his nails out in the hallway, waiting to come and check you’re okay, did it?”

“Oh, mom,” She groaned, pulling back even further. “Please don’t.”

Her mom was smiling a small smile, the corners of her mouth tugging up into a twist. 

“Do you want to let me know what’s going on there? He seems very protective of you.”

She wanted the world beneath her feet to open up and swallow her whole. This was what she had been hoping to avoid, she had placed Rowan as far from her mother as she could the whole day, but she should have known her mom was like a hound with a scent. But Evalin was still smiling. 

“Mom,” She started, knowing she was blushing hard, and she hadn’t felt as much like a teenager as she had today in years. “We’re friends, he’s a good guy.”

Her mom bit her lip, restraining her smile. 

“I’d believe you’re friends with the other two, what are their names again? Lorcan and Fenix?”

She finally laughed, and she suspected it had been her mom’s intention the whole time. 

“You know it’s Fenrys.”

“Maybe,” Evalin shrugged as she tucked a strand of Aelin’s hair behind her ear and she leaned into the gesture. “Either way, you’re different around Rowan, you can’t hide that from me, Fireheart.”

Aelin only bit her lip, unsure of how much she wanted to admit. 

“I can’t blame you though,” Her mom continued. “These men you live with, where did Aedion find them? They’re all gorgeous.”

“Mom!” She gasped, outraged. “Don’t- it’s weird.”

“Alright,” Her mom laughed. “What’s stopping you? Does he have a girlfriend?”

“No, he’s single,” She admitted. “But… we live together.”

She heard the sadness in her own voice. Unless she wanted to move out, that issue would always be there. 

“So?”

“So, I don’t want to mess things up. What if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

Her mom shot her an unimpressed look, “Aelin, I very much doubt-”

“Mom, please.” She interrupted her, unsure she’d be able to take whatever came next, or that she even wanted to hear it. She and Rowan had a good thing going, and she didn’t want to mess it up, their friendship was important to her and she couldn’t risk losing it. 

“Okay, okay,” Her mom relented. “I guess I’ll get going then, seems like you have some things to sort out.”

“Right,” She said as she rose, checking herself in the mirror to make sure it wasn’t blatant that she had spent her time in here crying. She brushed her fingers along her fair eyelashes, swiping away any remnants of moisture before turning, satisfied that she looked composed enough. 

She swung her door open and stepped into the hall, her mom following closely behind. Her roommates seemed to have disappeared, there was no sign of any of them in the shared living space while she hugged her mom goodbye and promised to call her once she’d spoken to Lysandra. 

The door closed behind her mom with a soft click and she turned back to face the loft with her hand still pressed to the door. There was still one person she needed to see, and if her mom’s words were anything to go by Rowan was concerned about her reaction to his involvement. 

She didn’t blame him for keeping the secret, it wasn’t his secret to spill, and she knew he would have been torn up about holding back from telling her. She crossed the space back to the hallway by her bedroom but instead turned to knock at the entry to Rowan’s room. 

He answered only a second later. His eyes were full of an earnest apology, and the nervous hand he ran through his hair when he saw that it was her was a clear giveaway. It allowed her another glance at the tattoo that didn’t often poke out of the long sleeves of the flannel shirts he always wore. 

It was a beautifully intricate tattoo and it was a shame she couldn’t read the Old Language.

“What does it mean?” She blurted when he hadn’t yet spoken. 

His eyes widened slightly at her abrupt question and he lowered his arm to twist it around in the space between them. He laughed as he rolled the sleeve of his shirt up slightly so more of the inking was exposed. 

“I got the first part when we were in college, Aedion got me drunk and dared me to get a tattoo. I don’t remember the exact phrasing we chose now, but it was something about being young and free.”

She laughed as he frowned at his past self and rubbed a thumb along a section of the ink by his wrist. “It was dumb and looked terrible, but I still kind of liked it, so a few years later I worked with an artist to create a piece that told the whole story of my life. It took all my savings but I think it was worth it.”

She laughed softly and reached a hand up to the arm he still held outstretched and traced the lines that rose up his forearm. 

“Stupid right?” He asked. 

She shook her head. “Getting drunk with Aedion and getting a tattoo? Yes, very.”

He laughed as she continued, his eyes crinkling in a way that she found adorable. “The rest? Not at all.”

He twisted his arm around to grab her fingers that traced the ink up his arm and twisted them through his own until he held her hand gently and their arms fell linked in the space between them. 

“You okay, after before?” He asked. “I’m really sorry, Aelin. I wanted to tell you.”

She shook her head, dismissing his concern and squeezing his hand where their fingers still lay interlinked. “It’s not your fault, you don’t have to apologise to me.”

He used the hand that held her own to pull her even closer to him and the heat of his body warmed her hand where he held it to his chest. 

“I’m still sorry Aelin, I told them to tell you.”

She didn’t want to acknowledge the comment her mom had made about him being protective of her, but Rowan’s words reminded her of it like a smack in the face. 

She tilted her head up to look him in the eyes and they were such a beautiful green it took her a moment to find the words. 

“Rowan, I don’t blame you, please don’t apologise.”

She could see that he was still unsure, so she leant forwards to wrap her arm around his shoulders and pressed herself into him in a tight hug. He only hesitated for a second before releasing the hand he held to his chest to wrap both of his arms around her waist. She let out an almost imperceptible sigh of content. It felt good to have Rowan hold her in this way. 

Too soon though, she pulled back to look at him again, but she kept both of her hands resting on his shoulders. 

“Okay?”

He nodded at her with a slight smile, his hands still resting heavily on her waist. His hands were so large his fingers almost met in the middle of her back. 

“Come to the bar with me? I have a shift.”

She smiled up at him, feeling far more at peace than she had all day. “Of course.”

–

She sat on a stool at the bar, keeping Rowan company while he served the small number of customers in the bar. She loved watching him work; he was in his element behind the bar. The ease with which his hands moved as he manipulated the bottles and the charming smiles he offered whenever bills were tucked into his tip jar captured her attention and held it all night until a soft tap on her shoulder interrupted her viewing. 

She turned to be faced with a clearly nervous Aedion and Lysandra. 

“Ae, I want you two to sort this out,” Her cousin began. “But first I just want to say that I am really sorry we didn’t tell you.”

“It’s okay, Aedion,” She said but her eyes didn’t stray from Lysandra. Aedion nodded and stepped around her to go and join Rowan who had drifted over to the other end of the bar, leaving her with Lysandra who took a seat on the bar stool next to her. 

“I’m so sorry Aelin,” Lysndra began in a rush. 

“I’m sorry too Lysandra I-”

“No, please let me finish. What I said was out of line and completely uncalled for.” Lysandra said, her tone pleading for Aelin to understand. “I was feeling defensive and I lashed out, and I shouldn’t have done that, especially not this morning.”

“Lys,” She said. “Of course I forgive you. I only kicked you out because, you know…”

Lysandra smiled a knowing smile. “It’s a sensitive topic.”

“Exactly.” She returned Lysandra’s smile, and she paused, taking a breath before her next words. She was proud, but her friendship with Lysandra was worth the small admission. “I’m sorry for overreacting. About both you and Aedion and the Rowan thing.”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less,” Lysandra grinned and threw her arms around Aelin’s neck pulling her into a fierce hug that she returned. “Forgiven?”

“Forgiven.” She said, drawing back to grin at her friend. “Just don’t keep everything else a secret okay? I’d like to know if you’re getting married or having a kid.”

Lysandra’s mouth dropped open as she floundered for a response. “I- We… We aren’t there yet.”

“I know,” She glanced over to where Rowan and Aedion were watching them. “Not yet at least.”

She couldn’t resist the final taunt and Lysandra only stuck out her tongue. 

Eventually, she turned to look towards the men watching them on the other side of the bar, both of them trying to conceal the hope in their expressions and she smiled at them as she stood up to go over and join them. 

Movement caught her attention over at the entrance to the bar and she glanced over to see Lorcan entering the bar, followed by a short, dark-haired woman. 


	12. Chapter 12

Rowan drifted away from Aelin, under the excuse of serving another customer at the end of the bar, when he saw Aedion and Lysandra approach. He still wasn’t exactly sure what had been said between her and Lysandra, but the soft smiles they gave each other now told him that all wasn’t lost. 

He had meant to ask earlier, after he had given his own apology and done his grovelling for forgiveness, but Aelin had surprised him and forgiven him easily. She hadn’t even wanted him to apologise and he was grateful that she had seemed to have understood that he hadn’t been a willing participant in keeping the secret from her. 

That said, he was more than glad the secret keeping was finally over. 

He hadn’t been expecting the hug she had thrown at him, the way she had flung herself into his arms had shocked him, but it had most definitely been a welcome surprise. The sensation of her cradled against his chest, her hair tickling his cheeks, the soft pressure of her arms around his neck.

It had felt far too good. 

He had allowed himself to get lost in it. Wrapping his arms around her small waist and pulling her into himself even tighter he had allowed himself to breathe in the scent of her hair. She was divine. He was struggling to forget about it, or to even stop thinking about it for a moment. 

He shouldn’t be so excited over a hug. He was calm, honestly. But it felt different than it did at the wedding, when they were playing pretend to show Lyria he was over her. And gods if that didn’t feel like a lifetime ago, Aelin had been almost a stranger, only having lived with them for a few weeks.

But now this was _Aelin_ , and Rowan was in such deep, unending shit. 

“They seem to have made up now, thank the gods,” Aedion said, looking over to where Aelin and Lysandra sat, as he slid in opposite Rowan where he stood polishing glasses. He nodded at his friend, not even needing to take his order at this point. 

“Lucky for you,” He said and Aedion bit back the grin he knew threatened to bloom. 

“And seemingly you too, you looked pretty cosy when we came in,” Aedion raised a brow. 

“Yeah,” He said, he couldn’t deny it. He felt as if Aelin had a sort of magnetism to her, one he could never resist, that always pulled him into her orbit. 

“Yeah?” Aedion asked, disbelief clear in his tone. “No denial this time?”

He rolled his eyes, but it was probably better to play it safe. “There’s nothing to deny.”

“Of course not,” He grinned and stood to pull his phone out of his pocket when it buzzed. “Lorcan says he’s bringing his boss.”

“Here?”

“Here.”

He laughed. 

They had all been waiting to meet the captain since Lorcan first brought up his irritation with the guy. Aedion had bet them that by the end of the month Lorcan would have requested a transfer to a different department in order to escape, but Fenrys had countered, in fact raising the bet, wagering that Lorcan would be transferred before he could even ask. The anger the man seemed to incite inside of their friend left no other option. 

“Should be fun then,” He said to Aedion who was busy tapping away at his phone screen, likely replying to Lorcan with some teasing barb if he knew his friend at all. 

His own phone buzzed and he pulled it out to see a message from Lorcan himself.

_shut the fuck up both of you_

He snorted. He definitely knew Aedion well enough, and Lorcan’s own reaction was more than predictable.

Still shaking his head, he turned to look back over to where Aelin and Lysandra sat. They were finally embracing and he couldn’t help the sigh of relief that spread through him. He knew the expression he wore when she looked over, as she and Lysandra turned to join them, was far too soft. Far too loving to be looking at a friend. But after their hug, some of the strands of restraint he held himself in had snapped. 

The sight of Lorcan appearing in the doorway off to the side drew his attention and he nodded a greeting before spotting the woman following behind him. The woman had long, thick hair, almost impossibly darker than Lorcan’s himself and pale, almost translucent, skin with the softest of pink blushes gracing her angular cheekbones. 

She was tiny, the top of her head barely gracing his friends shoulders, and slight in stature as she stood completely dwarfed by their friend. 

He thought Lorcan was bringing his boss?

A glance at Aedion told him he was thinking the same thing. 

He had texted only a minute earlier that he was bringing Captain Lochan. 

“Can you even be a police officer if you’re that small?” Aedion breathed at his side, and he knew the conclusion he had drawn was correct, as impossible as it seemed. He couldn’t reply, could only stare, trying to close his mouth, as Lorcan and his guest approached. 

When they reached the bar Lorcan spoke. 

“Meet Captain Elide Lochan,” He held a hand out to the woman at his side. “Captain, my roommates, Rowan and Aedion.”

Rowan blinked and he knew Aedion did the same. This was the boss Lorcan had been moaning about? The pain in his ass, the reason he didn’t want to get up in the morning. This tiny woman?

“You’re Captain Lochan?” 

Maybe it was rude, but he couldn’t believe this stunning woman was who Lorcan had been complaining about. Unless… Damn. She was exactly Lorcan’s usual type; dark-haired, pale skinned and petite. 

He glanced up at the male. His expression as he stared down at the captain was not one Rowan would expect given the speeches they had received about her. 

“I was expecting a guy,” Aedion said, sounding stunned. At Lorcan’s glare he said; “No offense.”

Captain Lochan only raised an eyebrow at his friend as she slid onto a bar stool. Even with the boost that gave her Aedion still towered over her, yet she still managed to look down at him. 

“Any reason for that?” She asked, and her voice was gentle and peaceful before she said, “Other than sexism?”

She raised a dark eyebrow and stared at Aedion with a look that Rowan knew could wear down hardened criminals in a matter of seconds. Aedion began to stutter an apology and Rowan could only stare, his mouth slightly ajar at the whirlwind that was this woman. He was impressed she managed to have Aedion speechless so quickly. 

She let him fester for a second longer before grinning, a wicked, mischievous thing. Lorcan wore a matching grin of appreciation as he watched his boss.

“I’m only fucking with you,” She laughed and turned to Rowan who barely dared to let out a slight laugh, almost a giggle. “Two beers please. You can put them on his tab.”

She gestured to Lorcan who had slid onto the stool on her other side, who only nodded to Rowan. He turned, grateful for a moment of privacy to process, just as Aelin and Lysandra approached the group. 

– 

She could hardly believe that the slight woman perched on a stool next to her cousin was _the_ Captain Lochan that Lorcan had been slating for weeks. She had only had a second to school her expression into anything other than shock when they were introduced, and the look of mild panic that Aedion flashed her told her he felt the exact same. 

She wasn’t what Aelin expected from a tough police captain, and it made her realise she really needed to stop making assumptions on things. Elide was stunning, her face was fair and her hair was glossy and shiny where it fell in thick dark waves. 

Her plump, red lips twisted into a wicked smirk as she whipped Aelin’s roommates into shape with barely a handful of words. Aelin liked her already, and the way she riled Lorcan was only part of it. 

She could also handle her drink, for a woman of barely five feet tall she knocked back as many pints as Lorcan and it was hardly noticeable past a slight flush in her cheeks. 

Aelin was not handling her own so well. Rowan had handed her her first drink with a grin, tucking a tiny pink umbrella into the side that he knew she liked, but by now, if she wasn’t so buzzed, she would suspect her drinks were getting weaker and weaker. 

He drifted over to her, lightly bracing his arms on the bar in front of himself and across from her, and she smiled widely up at him, the sounds of her friends’ lively conversations fading into the background. She had long since stopped contributing, content to sit back and watch the whirlwind that was Elide Lochan, but she was more than happy to be faced with Rowan, especially when he was smiling at her in such a way that brightened his whole face. 

“Hey you,” He said, his voice soft. “Had enough to drink yet?”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” She slurred, her voice creeping up at the end. Shit, maybe she had had enough to drink. She’d never back down though. 

His smile widened at her, his eyes crinkling in a way that she couldn’t help but stare. She loved his smile. Sober Aelin could unpack that later. 

“You want to know what I think?” She asked him, cocking her head.

“Do I?” He laughed, and at her unimpressed glare he said, “Go on.”

“I think,” She walked her fingertips across the bar until she poked an index finger into the top of his hand. “I think the bartender is being stingy with me.”

“Right,” He laughed. “Maybe you should call the police,” A nod towards Lorcan and Elide. “I’m sure there are laws about how much alcohol free drinks have to contain.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed again. 

“Don’t laugh at me,” She pouted and moved to pull her hand back to her chest. Rowan snapped his own hand off the bar and grabbed her fingers, cradling her hand in his own against the bar. 

“I’m not, I promise.” He told her with a smile. “I’ll have a word with the bartender.”

She grinned at him before pulling her hand back and slapping them both onto the bar as she pushed herself off her stool.

“I need the toilet.” She announced, far too loudly. “Ladies?”

She turned to Lysandra and Elide. She had been to the toilet with Lysandra more times than she could count, they always did when they were out, and she had drank enough that she was unfazed by the idea of bringing the relative stranger that was Elide. 

Aelin liked her now, that was enough. 

–

Running her hands under the cold water at the sink was helping her to steady herself and she swore it was helping her sober up. She didn’t usually get so drunk in nights at the bar with the guys but the energy was high and Elide was a fantastic new addition to the dynamic.

Aelin wanted to keep her for herself, _fuck Lorcan_ , he didn’t have to like her; Aelin liked her more than enough. But even her drunk mind suspected that Lorcan’s complaints were more than they seemed, the way his face softened when he looked at her was something she hadn’t missed, no matter how many drinks she was in.

She looked up at herself in the mirror, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were glassy, but her smile was wide and she looked happy. 

She thought back to where she had been only a few months ago, waiting for Arobynn to return, the only other real person she had as a constant that she had in her life was Lysandra, and while she loved her friend, she had never wanted to bother her. 

It had meant that all the times she had felt low she had let it sit and fester. That was different now. Getting rid of Arobynn had lifted a weight from her chest that she hadn’t realised had become so cumbersome. 

Moving in with the guys had completely changed her life and she felt almost back to who she was before Arobynn. She was carefree again, she had friends again, and she hadn’t realised how much she had allowed Arobynn’s dislike of her having male friends to affect her. 

Gods, she was weepy when she was drunk. She blinked back the tears and turned the tap off before spinning around to dry her hands. She found herself faced with Lysandra and Elide who were shouting at each other over the noise of the hand dryer. 

“I don’t know why he didn’t tell us,” Lysandra yelled, she was also drunk, just not quite as much as Aelin.

“Who? And tell us what?” She yelled back, her voice shockingly loud when the dryer cut out. 

Elide laughed, a sweet sound that fit more with her appearance of jeans and a loose chiffon top than the clever jokes that had passed her lips so far this evening. 

“That Elide was a woman,” Lysandra spun to her, her green eyes wide. 

“Oh,” She turned back to Elide. “Yeah, it’s Lorcan though, none of us can explain why he does any of what he does.”

Elide laughed as Lysandra snorted and slung an arm across her shoulders, the mesh of her puffy sleeves scratched slightly against the side of Aelin’s face. 

She cocked her head at Elide, “What is he like with you?”

She could only imagine that Lorcan was even less friendly at work than he was with her, and she knew at this point that they were definitely friends, it was just what he was like. 

Elide took a breath, and Aelin swore a flush of blood rushed to her cheeks, gracing the planes of her face with a pretty pink tint. 

“Can I confess something to you guys?” She asked.

Aelin grinned at Lysandra. 

“Please,” Her friend whispered conspiratorially as they both leaned in towards Elide. 

“I thought when he invited me here that it was a date,” Elide twisted her hands in front of herself nervously. 

Aelin gasped and heard Lysandra do the same, yanking her arm back off Aelin’s shoulders. 

“No,” She whispered as she heard Lysandra mutter ‘ _why is he like this?_ ’ by her side. 

“What did he say, exactly, when he invited you here?” She asked. 

Elide bit her lip, still blushing as she looked between Aelin and Lysandra. “He asked if I wanted to get a drink with him.”

She cursed the man still sat at the bar, he was more than stupid if he hadn’t realised how that would sound, and she looked towards Lysandra. Not that she wanted to meddle, but she could sense that Lorcan might be the kind of guy who needed a little push, and she knew she and Lysandra were more than up to the task. 

Lysandra grinned back and she was grateful they already seemed to be over their fight, already back to scheming. 

“He’s an idiot,” She said apologetically. “But if it makes you feel better he definitely seems to like you; you’re all he’s spoken about for weeks.”

“Really?” A pretty smile took over Elide’s face. 

Aelin nodded and she could feel Lysandra doing the same before Elide let out a nervous laugh. 

“What does he say about me?” 

Aelin pursed her lips, the alcohol still coursing through her veins had somewhat smashed through her already flimsy filter, and she turned to Lysandra who cleared her throat.

“Um, nothing _bad_ ,” She began experimentally, and Aelin nodded along dramatically, but Elide surprised her by laughing.

“It’s about the reforms isn’t it?”

“How did you know?” She asked.

Elide flipped a hand through the air in front of them, “He hasn’t kept his thoughts on them a secret from me.”

Aelin sighed in relief. “If you know that you have absolutely nothing to worry about, and from one lady to another, I think you’ve got a pretty good chance of landing that date.”

She looped her arm through Elide’s and led the way back out to the bar. Her eyes scanned the three males at the bar and she remembered, only a little late, that Fenrys was missing. She tapped out a quick message to him and his reply was almost instantaneous. 

_At the loft. Bring everyone back here :)_

That she could do. 

– 

“Are you sure though?” Aedion rested his head against his fist, his elbow braced on the slightly sticky top of the bar, but he didn’t seem fazed by the fact. 

Lorcan shook his head around a swig of his beer. “I’m sure. Even if I did like her-”

“Which you do,” Rowan interrupted, sharing another grin with Aedion. Lorcan glared at him but continued. 

“Even if I liked her, she’s my boss.” 

“So?” Aedion asked, as if the answer was clear. Which, if you asked Rowan, it was. 

“I can’t date my boss.” Lorcan stated simply. 

“You don’t need to.” Aedion explained, all of his marketing skills were out in full force. Rowan even felt himself being persuaded. “Date her, it’s clear you want to.”

Lorcan didn’t deny it and Aedion continued. 

“Then all you have to do is switch departments. You hate being under her anyway, you’re constantly moaning about all the things she makes you do, so it can only be a win-win.”

“I don’t know,” Lorcan began, but Rowan could tell he was sold. He only hoped Elide returned the desire, but from the way she had sat all night, leaning into Lorcan’s side, he doubted that she wouldn’t. 

“Do it,” He said firmly. 

“As if I need to take dating advice from you.” 

He narrowed his eyes at his friend, but hissed at him when he spotted the girls heading back over from the toilet. “Whatever. Shut up now.”

Aelin looked far too good he decided as she picked her way through the tables dotted across the floor. Her skin was glowing and her smile was bright where she led Elide and Lysandra back over to them. The outfit she had on was one he was struggling with, her top was cut low in a deep v-neck, and he was struggling to pull his eyes away from the cream skin that was exposed. 

He composed himself just in time for her to throw herself onto the stool in front of him. 

“Hey,” She said, almost breathless. “What time do you get off?”

He checked the clock behind himself. Excellent, not long until his replacement got in.

“Ten minutes,” He told her and couldn’t help but smile back when she grinned and clapped her hands. 

“We,” She waved a hand around the entire group collected at the bar, “Are taking this back to the loft, Fenrys feels left out.”

She pouted overdramatically at the end and he couldn’t help but think she looked adorable with her lower lip pushed out and her big blue eyes looking up at him.

“Alright,” Aedion cried, slapping a hand against the one Aelin held outstretched. “Finally a good fucking drink.”

Rowan flipped him off but grinned, now he could finally catch them up. 

– 

He should have known that heading back to the loft, with his roommates in the state that they were would get messy. Fenrys’ level of general chaos only played off the inebriation of the others and he wasn’t surprised they had ended up sat in a circle in their living room playing another game of truth or dare. 

They needed to get a new game, for gods’ sake he was almost thirty, but he couldn’t deny that it was enjoyable. He had managed to choke down a couple of Fenrys’ _specials_ and was now feeling pleasantly buzzed, nowhere near the level of Aedion or Fenrys, but similar to Aelin next to him, attempting to sober up.

She had collapsed onto the sofa beside him and tucked herself under his arm that rested along the back of the seat. She laid her head back so it was resting on his bicep, and his hand had almost gone numb, but he couldn’t push her away. 

Aedion glanced up from his phone screen, “Lysandra, change your shirt with the person on your left.”

Lysandra groaned, “You are so predictable.” 

But she leaned forward to pull off her top in one swift sweep and Rowan carefully averted his eyes as Aelin whooped.

“It’s all part of the game, sweetheart,” Aedion grinned fiendishly as Fenrys tugged off his own shirt to swap with Lysandra. Elide whistled and Rowan felt, more than heard, the cackle that Aelin let loose. 

Lysandra looked fine in Fenrys’ green t-shirt, but Fenrys in Lysandra’s mesh top was a sight to see. It stretched across his shoulders in a way that was visibly uncomfortable but he took it in his stride, throwing back another mouthful of whatever was mixed in his glass. 

“Backfired maybe?” Lorcan asked Aedion darkly. “Or was it your intention to get your girlfriend in another guy’s shirt.” 

“Shut up,” Lysandra scolded. “Your turn then Mr Salvaterre. Stand up.”

“I didn’t say dare,” He replied. 

“Fine.” She narrowed her eyes. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” He grinned at her and she flipped him off. 

“Stand up.” She instructed. “Aedion your jacket please?”

Rowan frowned, not quite sure where the dare was, but the look Aelin was giving him from his side told him it would be good. It was a mischievous smile, pure Aelin, and he couldn’t help himself from returning it when she shifted her weight so her head lay more against his shoulder. He let his arm drop from the back of the couch so his hand was resting on her hip and she was firmly tucked into his side. 

He was buzzed enough to enjoy it, rather than worrying about what came next, or the looks that Aedion kept flashing him. 

Lorcan stood and Lysandra walked towards him with Aedion’s jacket in hand and stretched up onto her tiptoes to tie it across Lorcan’s eyes. “Wait there,” she said with a hand to his chest. 

She slipped to his side and bent down to whisper in Elide’s ear, who blushed but nodded slightly. Elide stepped up until she was standing on the spot where she had been sat and brushed her hair behind her shoulders. The top of her head almost came to the height of Lorcan, still standing by her side. 

Lysandra grabbed Lorcan’s hand and dragged him in a small loop before positioning him again in front of Elide and resting his hands on her shoulders. 

“Guess who this is,” Lysandra instructed coolly. “Only using your hands.”

Rowan grinned, so this was where Lysandra was going. It seemed Aelin and Lysandra had the same idea as himself and Aedion; they had just got there faster. 

Aelin let out a soft squeak of excitement as Lorcan’s hands began to move and he grinned, tightening the arm he held around her. 

–

Lysandra was a genius. Lorcan’s hands were skimming Elide’s sides and the blush on the woman’s face was delightful. Aelin grinned at her friend, who only raised her glass as she took her seat back on the other side of the circle, and she felt Rowan chuckle beneath her head.

She hadn’t sat next to him with the intention of cuddling him, especially not in front of all of their friends, but it felt too good to pull back. His palm was burning an imprint onto her hip where it rested, and she wanted to shift slightly in the hopes that skin would meet skin, but she managed to reign herself back in. 

The alcohol was clearing from her system slowly, and she was happy just to sit here buzzed and enjoy Rowan’s warmth. 

She watched Lorcan’s hands trail back up from Elide’s hips until they lightly brushed the underside of her breasts. He jerked his hands back sharply and yanked the jacket off his eyes before turning around to glare at Lysandra.

“I’m sorry,” He said, turning back to Elide and offering her a hand to step down from the seat. 

Aelin watched as Elide took his hand, stepped down and grinned back up at him. She could only hope that smile would kick her friend into gear, but then again, it was Lorcan. 

He turned to retake his seat and face the group, rubbing his hands together as he chose his target, but Elide interrupted.

“I’m taking this go,” She said, her voice clear from her perch next to Lorcan. “Rowan, truth or dare?”

The angle of her eyebrow had something stirring in Aelin’s stomach, she had already been able to tell that Elide had a wicked side. 

“Dare.”

She knew the cocky grin he wore as he sat forward, his hand slipping from her hip as he balanced his elbows on his knees as he met Elide’s challenge. She missed the pressure of him against her already.

“Rowan,” Elide said with a grin. “I dare you to kiss Aelin.”

She jerked in her seat, unable to believe what Elide had said. She was aware of Rowan completely frozen at her side and she blinked, unsure whether Rowan would go through with the dare. 

She knew she wanted him to, she was past the point of denial. She wanted to feel the pressure of his lips against her own, wanted to feel his fingers twisting through her hair. Her only hesitation was that their first kiss would be in front of all of her drunken roommates, but… She wanted him to kiss her. 

She ignored the jeers of her roommates, and focussed only on Rowan where he turned to look at her, but she felt her face fall when his eyes met her own. 

He looked panicked, like a deer caught in headlights, and she swallowed. The sensation that had begun with Elide’s demand now twisted into something like dread. 

“No,” He laughed awkwardly. 

“Do it!” Aedion cheered him on. 

“I-”, Rowan stuttered, but his voice grew more serious, losing the trace of laughter it had previously held. “No.”

He shook his head. Aelin felt her mouth drop open slightly and the atmosphere in the room shifted from something warm and jovial to something more delicate and somewhat uncomfortable. 

“Um, who’s next?” Fenrys asked, trying to recover the atmosphere.

“I think I should probably get going actually,” Elide stood and began to collect her things, Aelin nodded, not trusting herself to speak. 

She sharply avoided Rowan’s gaze, though she knew he was desperately seeking her out. She couldn’t take the rejection right now, and she didn’t even want to hear his excuses. She wished she was still as buzzed as she had been before, it might have made it easier to take. 

She bid goodbye to Elide quickly, exchanging phone numbers with the woman and promising to text each other, before slinking off to her room without so much as a word. 

–

She was struggling to sleep. She had been tossing and turning for at least half an hour at this point, wondering over and over why Rowan hadn’t kissed her. He couldn’t have thought she didn’t want him to, they had been sat cuddling all night and she had enjoyed it, so he couldn’t have thought she didn’t want to be that close to him.

She also knew they were friends and that they were at a level of comfortability with each other that, even if a kiss didn’t mean the same to him as it would have to her, he shouldn’t have felt too uncomfortable pressing a brief kiss to her lips. 

It could only mean he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. And that fucking hurt. 

She sighed, pushing her covers back off herself. She was never going to sleep like this, maybe going to get a glass of water could help her reset and try again. 

She shuffled towards the door before swinging it open and stepping into the hallway. She took a step down the hallway before she heard Rowan’s bedroom door open behind her. Perfect. 

She turned around to face him and noted that he was in pyjamas, even as upset as she was she couldn’t help but notice how good he looked. Even with the nervous expression plastered across his face and the way his teeth worried his lower lip. A part of her hoped he took note of how she looked in one of her favourite nightgowns, a pale pink number with an almost sheer overlay that fell to mid-thigh, but she knew it was probably unlikely. 

“Hey,” He said softly as he leaned one shoulder against his own doorway. 

“Hey,” She returned quietly. He had clearly heard her door open and come to seek her out so she crossed her arms across her chest and waited for him to speak. 

“Aelin, about before,” He took a pause and she sighed.

“Why didn’t you want to kiss me Rowan?”

She was sick of dancing around each other, she knew how she felt and that she wanted him to have kissed her, and his rejection had left her with nothing to lose. 

He ran a hand nervously through his hair as he pushed off from the door jam and stepped towards her. 

“I- Aelin, I didn’t want-”

She sighed. She had changed her mind. She didn’t want to hear his verbal rejection too. She turned, her glass of water forgotten, and headed back towards her own bedroom but Rowan darted forwards and wrapped a firm hand around her wrist, pulling her back into him. 

He pulled her against him, curling his fingers around her own, and tucked his other hand into the hair at the base of her neck as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. 

His lips were firm and warm against her own as his hand slipped forwards from her hair to cradle her cheek. She felt her eyes flutter shut and her lips parted against his as she let out a soft sigh at the contact. Rowan kissed her again, this time with more intent and the pressure was heavy, but his lips were soft and smooth where they brushed against her own.

He tilted her head up to himself, with the caress of a thumb under her chin, for better access as his other hand slid around to hold her waist. She lifted her own hands up over his shoulders to twist through his hair, holding him firmly to her. 

She couldn’t let go, she needed him closer.

She leaned into him as his tongue swept into her mouth, powerful strokes that had a heat building deep inside her, and she gasped each time they parted, her breaths rasping down her throat. The scent of him filled her head, the addicting pine and a hint of snow intoxicating her. 

His kisses became harder and more intense and she clung to him desperately as he claimed her mouth with his own. She stepped impossibly forward into him until the line of her body was pressed against his own and his arm around her waist tightened in response, tugging her even tighter against him. 

She couldn’t help the soft moan that slipped out of her as the arm he had wrapped firmly around her waist slipped lower, only the faintest graze of his hand down her backside, until it slipped lower and bunched the fabric of her dress. His fingertips brushed the skin of her thigh and the contact seemed to shock Rowan back to his senses. 

He pulled back gently, but not before pressing another feather-light peck against her lips. Her eyes fluttered open to look at him where he stood, still so close to her his chest brushed against hers as it heaved with each of his deep breaths. 

He seemed to take a moment, his eyes flicking across her face before he smiled slightly and loosened his hold on her. She knew the smile she wore was just as delicate as she slid her hands down from his hair to his shoulders. 

He pressed a final kiss against her temple before releasing her fully. He took a step back and turned to head back into his bedroom. 

“I didn’t want the first time I kissed you to be for some stupid game.”


	13. Chapter 13

Her first kiss wasn’t her favourite memory. She was fifteen, and at a bowling alley of all places for Lysandra’s birthday. It had been with a guy called Nox and he had tentatively pressed his chapped lips to hers for a second before pulling away. Their feet had been a solid foot apart and he had all but ran from her as soon as it was done. 

She liked to think her kisses had only improved from then; as much as he was a dick, Arobynn had been a pretty decent kisser when he could be bothered to offer her any kind of affection. 

Rowan’s kiss had been something different though. 

His lips had been gentle but insistent against her own, and she hadn’t been able to help the soft sighs and the gentle moan that had slipped out of her. He knew what he was doing, and she hadn’t doubted him in all the times she had imagined kissing him, but she had still been pleasantly surprised. 

He had kissed her confidently and she had been taken, perfectly content to let him take control and kiss her strongly, to steal her breath and tilt her head. She hadn’t been like that with Arobynn, but she vowed for that to be the last time she would compare the two. 

She had spent the whole night struggling to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, the phantom touch of Rowan’s lips against her own filled her mind, she swore she could still feel the spike of heat where his fingertips had brushed, ever so gently, against her thigh. 

She was still blushing from the sensation of his fingers lightly tugging her hair and the groan it had elicited from her throat when she woke, barely rested after hours of tossing and turning with her mind unable to fully switch off. 

She wanted to see him, wanted to kiss him again, wanted him to kiss her and take control again. 

But she needed to be careful. As much as she longed to throw caution to the wind, and to cross the hall and plant herself in his bed, to press herself against his side and lay herself bare for him, she needed to make sure she knew exactly what she was going for. 

She felt confident enough to guess that the attraction between them was mutual, he hadn’t shied away from roaming his hands along her skin and it wasn’t like she was blind to the way he watched her. 

But he had been the one to walk away from the kiss. 

In the quiet of the hall last night she likely would have been inclined to follow had he invited her to his bed. But he hadn’t. And as much as Rowan was sometimes reserved, sometimes quiet where she was loud and brash, he wasn’t quite shy. He had a quiet kind of confidence to him that she expected him to have asked her to join him if that was what he wanted. 

That left her with only one choice. 

\-- 

She pounded her fist against the door and each sound was blow to her head, a telltale sign she had drunk more than she ought to the night before. She hadn’t realised the sensation in her head was likely due to more than just her lack of sleep, she had drank more last night than she had in a while. Aelin lessened her knocking, and changed tact to call through the door. 

“Can I come in?” She half whispered, not wanting to disturb any of the other occupants of the loft. “It’s important.”

She heard the rustling of bed sheets before the voice of the room’s occupant spoke.

“What, Aelin?” Her cousin sounded only mildly irritated to be woken up relatively early after the state he had been in last night. She bit back a snort at the thought of how hilarious her cousin had been after a few too many drinks. 

He hadn’t been the only one to make her laugh; she had taken more than a liking to Elide. The woman was feisty and sarcastic. Her sense of humour gelled well with Aelin’s and she knew she’d have to get her number from Lorcan. 

“Aedion, I need to speak to Lysandra.”

Immediately her friend’s voice sounded. “Come in Ae.”

She pushed the door open and quickly shut it behind herself. She took in where her cousin and best friend lay, both clearly unclothed beneath the sheets if the way the dark blue sheet was tucked up high was anything to go by, resting just under each of their chins. She deliberately looked only at her best friend. 

“I need to speak to you,” She announced before risking a glance toward Aedion. “Alone.”

He barked out a laugh. “This is my room.”

She shot him an incredulous look; this was important, did he not realise that?

Lysandra only patted her boyfriend on the shoulder and tilted her head towards the door. Aelin grinned as Aedion began to move, but spun around quickly to face the wall, she wasn’t keen to see her cousin naked. 

“Thank you,” She called teasingly and he only grumbled under his breath as he shucked on his clothes and poked her side before heading out of the doorway and into the kitchen. 

She waited until his protests faded, until his reminder that  _ ‘you have your own room you know _ ’ was far enough from them that she didn’t think he would be able to hear her, before turning to Lysandra and placing herself, cross-legged, at the end of Aedion’s bed.

“Someone’s grumpy this morning,” She said, only a hint of mockery coloured her tone. 

Lysandra laughed. “Always. Now not that I’m complaining, you know you’re my favourite Ashryver, but what’s so important you had to kick him out at this time?”

Aelin found herself unable to fully hold back her smile, even though she tried, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth slightly. 

She wanted to smile both at Lysandra’s reassurance of her place as the superior Ashryver, and at the news she had been waiting to drop since she had closed her door last night, but faced with her waiting best friend she became… almost nervous. 

She mostly hoped Lysandra wouldn’t immediately jump to the wrong conclusions. Aelin knew the situation was slightly messy, but she was happy, she had kissed  _ Rowan,  _ and she wanted at least a morning before she had to face the consequences, whatever they might be.

She could feel her face heating as she thought through exactly how to fill Lysandra in on what had gone down since their disastrous game of truth or dare. 

“So,” She looked down to her knees where they crossed beneath her and took a breath. “Rowan kissed me.”

Lysandra’s green eyes widened almost comically as she sprung up in the bed, only half remembering to keep the sheet pressed to her chest. A coil of dark hair managed to hide what the sheet exposed.

“He what?” She shrieked. 

Aelin shushed her quickly. She didn’t want Aedion,  _ or worse, _ any of her other roommates coming to see what the commotion was.

“He kissed me,” She said, pressing her hands to her cheeks. She still felt slightly giddy when she thought about it and she doubted the feeling would fade soon.

It had been an end to the night that she hadn’t seen coming; she had still been reeling from his rejection when she found herself face to face with him in the hall. He had surprised her. She supposed all she had been expecting when she saw him was a depressing explanation of his reasons for not wanting to kiss her, but what she had received had been so much better. 

“When did this happen?” Lysandra demanded, her mouth opened slightly in an excited smile. 

“Last night,” Aelin said, still trying to reel in her excitement so not to squeal like a high-schooler after their first kiss. “After everyone went to bed.”

Lysandra’s grin took on a dark edge, “And was it just a kiss?”

“Yes,” She tutted. “Just a kiss.”

“Was it a good kiss?”

“Lys,” She said simply, still fighting against her smile. It was all she needed to say for Lysandra to shake her head with a grin. “It was like he was a man and I was a woman and he just took me and kissed me and I was  _ gone _ .”

“Aelin Galathynius,” Lysandra shook her head, still smiling along with her. “Who could have foreseen this?”

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit,” She deadpanned, tugging threateningly on the sheet Lysandra still held against herself. 

“What does this mean then?” Her friend asked, and truthfully? She wasn’t sure. 

Rowan had left her last night, in the hallway, with his killer getaway line. While it had reassured her that he didn’t just  _ not want _ to kiss her, it hadn’t given her much more to go off. It hadn’t clued her into whether or not he wanted to kiss her again, or whether he wanted to do anything more than kiss her. 

“I’m not sure,” She started but Lysandra spoke again when she sensed Aelin didn’t have anything more concrete.

“Did he say what it meant?”

She breathed out a laugh. “All he said was, and I quote, ‘ _ I didn’t want the first time I kissed you to be for some stupid game _ ’.”

Lysandra nodded before she grinned. “The first time he kissed you? Means he was definitely planning on doing it at some point, with or without the stupid game.”

Aelin smiled again, she had had the same thought, and hearing the confirmation from Lysandra was almost dizzying in its relief. And if she allowed herself to admit; excitement. 

She wondered when he would have kissed her if Elide hadn’t dared him to do so. She knew she and Rowan had been dancing around the edge of something for a while now and she couldn’t stop the desire building within her for something more. Had he not been her roommate, and had there not been such dire consequences if it ended badly, she might have made a move by herself at this point. 

But, she supposed, if she had this hold up he probably did too, and she sighed. There lay their issue. 

They lived together, and she was happy living there. She didn’t want to lose him, or the other guys in the loft, if she went for it and it ended badly. She could accept that if anything happened she would have to be the one to leave the loft, Rowan had lived there first and was far closer to the other guys than her. 

Lysandra, as always, could see right through her. 

“I think you need to talk to him.”

The door swung open behind her and she turned around to berate Aedion for interrupting when Lysandra let out a squeak and threw herself further under the covers. 

“Fenrys, knock!” Her friend yelled. 

The offender only raised a hand to cover his eyes before stepping into the room as well as he could while blind. “I’m not even looking.”

She heard Lysandra’s scoff behind her and raised an eyebrow at her friend, still lingering in the doorway. It only worked in his favour, she reminded herself, when he didn’t respond to her non-verbal prompt. 

“What?” She asked. 

“Can I see yet?” He asked and Aelin rolled her eyes before turning to Lysandra. Her friend snuggled deeper into Aedion’s bed, making sure she was covered, before offering Aelin a thumbs up. 

“Yes, now why are you in here?” She asked, before adding; “Interrupting.”

Fenrys only grinned and dropped his hand from his eyes, undeterred as he stepped forwards. 

“We need toilet paper, and it’s your turn to buy.”

Aelin blinked. She couldn’t believe him. What was it with guys in the loft and not realising this was  _ serious _ ? Just when she and Lysandra had got to the really important part, the part where Lysandra was going to give Aelin the advice she desperately needed. 

“This was why you barged in here? Toilet paper?” Lysandra was equally as incredulous as Aelin.

Fenrys shot her a look that just read  _ duh _ . 

“You two use the most, and  _ you _ ,” He pointed to Lysandra, “don’t even live here.”

Lysandra shrugged, unbothered. Lysandra was now a fixture of the loft the same as any of the official residents. Her place as Aelin’s best friend and Aedion’s girlfriend gave her unlimited access and Aelin wouldn’t be surprised if she had already had a key cut. 

“Not exactly true,” Aelin said, but smiled at him. “Could you not go, just this once? For me, please?”

She was sure he definitely owed her at least one favour for some reason or another. 

“Aelin, please.” She looked away from where he had attempted to dial the charm all the way up. “I’ll come with you.”

She weighed it up. 

“Is Rowan up?” She asked. 

A splash of confusion crossed Fenrys’ at her abrupt and seemingly out of nowhere question, but he shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

She sighed, it probably wouldn't take long. And Rowan wasn’t working today, so he’d be here for her to talk to when she got back. 

“Fine, but we’ll be quick.” She said, standing up before turning back to Lysandra. “We’ll carry this on later?”

Lysandra saluted her from her position still tucked into Aedion’s pillows.

\--

Rowan swung the toy up and across his chest, before sweeping it backwards and over his body to the other side. Hellas pounced on him, diving onto the planes of his chest with his claws outstretched before leaping off and attacking the small snake toy with the ferocity of a lion. 

Rowan scratched the tiny beast on the head, receiving only a mild purr in response as the kitten curled into the space between his side and the arm he had slung across the back of the sofa, clutching the now loose toy in his small claws. He stifled a yawn, not wanting to disturb the kitten who had cemented his position as the prime of the loft in a matter of days. 

He had barely slept last night, hadn’t been able to get his mind to shut up for more than a minute before it was back onto images of Aelin from the night before. The soft pink of her nightgown, only a shade lighter than the blush gracing her skin, the swell of her lips after he had pulled back from the kisses they shared to draw a breath. A tug in his lower stomach noted, with a kind of purely male satisfaction, that he had been the one to make her look like that. Freshly kissed and sexy as hell. 

He hadn’t been able to stop replaying the gentle moan that had slipped through her lips when he had pressed the hard line of his body even tighter against her, and in combination with the memory of the way her fingernails had scraped against his scalp, he had pressed his pillow firmly across his face and hoped that would be good enough. He would no doubt be questioned if he had snuck off for a cold shower at three in the morning. 

Her lips had been gentle against his own, only pausing for a second before kissing him back. 

_ That _ , he supposed was the detail his mind kept snagging on. He hadn’t expected her to return the gesture, and had already readied himself for damage control, before her hand had crept up and tangled through the strands of hair at the base of his neck, locking him to her. It had given him the confidence to sweep his tongue into her mouth, and the taste of Aelin on his tongue had sent a pulse of something hot burning through him. 

He had imagined kissing Aelin any number of times, had imagined a soft peck after taking her to dinner, had imagined pressing scorching kisses down from her lips to her neck as he pulled her bra straps down her shoulders. He had even imagined kissing her only to be rejected, had imagined her as stiff as a board while he pressed his lips to her own. 

The reality had surpassed any of the scenarios he had been able to come up with. 

Kissing Aelin had been everything he had expected it to be and more; soft and sweet, hot and intense. He could at least admit to himself that he wanted to do it again. Wanted to do more than kiss her, if she would have him. 

But Aelin deserved more than that. 

She deserved more than a hookup with her roommate. She deserved flowers, and a knock on the door at eight o’clock sharp. She deserved to be romanced, with petals and love proclamations scrawled across little notes. Aelin deserved to be swept off her feet.

After that piece of shit Arobynn, who Rowan had to constantly remind himself was out of her life now, Aelin deserved everything. 

Fuck. 

He guessed that was why he had panicked, why he had crept back to his room before she had had a chance to speak. It was the cowards approach, but he couldn’t believe he had done it, that he had kissed her, and he had needed a moment to compose himself. 

He sighed, a long and cathartic release of the pressure that had built up inside him since the night before. It had been an eventful night.

“You alright?” Aedion’s question was teasing where it came from behind him. 

Rowan rolled his head back along the cushions of the sofa to shoot his friend a look. Aedion laughed. 

“Yeah, me too,” He said as he gently lowered himself to the seat beside Rowan, dropping a gentle scratch along the spine of the kitten still tucked into his side. Hellas had long since fallen asleep, but Rowan knew Aedion was just as powerless as he was against the kitten. All of them were. “You look how I feel. Never let me drink that much again.”

Rowan snorted. “You were fine when I was serving you, you can blame Fenrys for this.” He waved a hand to where Aedion cringed into his seat, fingertips massaging his temples as his eyes drifted shut. 

“I’ll blame you all,” Aedion said finally, his eyes shut tightly.

A moment of silence passed before Rowan asked, “You the first one up?” 

He hadn’t seen anyone else this morning, well  _ afternoon  _ now, but most importantly he hadn’t had a chance to speak to Aelin. Her bedroom door had been open when he woke, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found and he supposed he would have to play the waiting game. 

“Nah,” Aedion said. “Aelin kicked me out of my own room at gods know what fucking time this morning to speak to Lysandra then left, also hideously early, with Fenrys. And I haven’t seen Lorcan. Not entirely convinced he spent the night here.”

A surprisingly long run down given the state he was in and Rowan caught the twitch of his brow at the effort required to sustain such a long conversation. He would have laughed if he didn’t feel similar. 

He hadn’t drank that much, and it definitely wasn’t enough that he could have blamed his kiss with Aelin on the alcohol if she was unhappy. 

He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to wipe his mind clear. 

“You think Lorcan went home with Elide?”

Aedion offered half of a shrug, then winced at the motion. 

“Not sure, it wouldn’t surprise me if he had. But then again, it is Lorcan.” He paused, letting his hands drop from his temples but his eyes stayed closed. “We’re agreed that all the moaning he did, he’s just into her, right?”

“One hundred percent.” Rowan nodded slightly, cursing the sharp spikes the motion sent through his head. He took a pause before saying; “The captain seemed to quite like him too though.”

“Can’t understand why,” Aedion laughed. “She was nice, attractive, and could actually hold a conversation, unlike-” 

“I know what you’re about to say and don’t bother.”

Rowan had missed Lorcan’s entrance before he spoke, but the gravel of his voice cut through Aedion’s words like a knife. He then didn’t miss the heavyweight throwing himself between him and Aedion. His roommate swept the kitten up to plunk Hellas on his own chest as he too collapsed into the cushions. 

“I didn’t sleep with the captain,” Lorcan almost growled. “And her name is Elide.”

“Sorry, boss.” 

Rowan felt the slap Aedion swung at Lorcan’s shoulder and felt his lips tilt up. It had been a while since they had all festered like this after a night of drinking and it sent him back to college. Even though Lorcan hadn’t been to college with the three of them, they had met soon after, and it hadn’t been long before the four of them had moved into a smaller apartment outside of Rifthold. Their college antics had continued for a while after that, drinking to excess and being straight up gross the next day. 

They didn’t do it often anymore. He was desperately avoiding the knowledge that as they neared thirty it was getting harder and harder to recover and, apart from Rowan, they all had proper jobs now that didn’t allow for being out of action for a whole day afterwards. 

He lay back, settling into the amiable silence with his friends, and he closed his eyes. He was content to lie there for however long, but it could only have been seconds before the peace was interrupted by the buzzing of a phone. 

_ His phone,  _ with Aelin’s contact photo lighting up the screen. 

\-- 

There was a beeping coming from somewhere down the hallway. It was kind of getting on her nerves at this point, but she didn’t want to stray from her place at Fenrys’ side to go and complain about it, she could try to tune it out as best as she could. It didn’t matter that he wore an easy grin, exuding an unbothered energy by the turn their day had taken, she wouldn’t leave him. 

Aelin didn’t know how it had happened; one minute they had been traipsing the aisles of the local supermarket searching for the one item they had come for, and the next Fenrys was sprawled on the floor, a steady stream of blood flowing from a gash in the side of his hand. 

She hadn’t seen the spill on the floor in time to warn him, and had only been able to watch in horror as he had slid straight into a display case of bottles of some kind of wine. The glass had shattered across the floor, sending floods of fizzing liquid across the tiles in waves as Fenrys clattered to the ground, arms braced in front of himself to cushion the fall. 

The staff at the supermarket had offered them rolls and rolls of blue tissue paper to stem the bleeding but Aelin had taken one look at the wound and knew, from her very limited medical knowledge mostly gained from television programmes, that it would need stitches. They had taken an Uber to the emergency room and ended up waiting in this room for a doctor to come and stitch up Fenrys’ hand. She wasn’t sure how long they had been there, but it definitely hadn’t been what Aelin had meant when she had emphasised the need for their trip to be  _ quick _ . 

She sighed as she shifted in the hard plastic seat placed next to the bed Fenrys relaxed into. He caught the expression. 

“I’m sorry,” The quirk of his lips didn’t diminish. “I really was trying to be quick.” Cheeky.

“It’s not your fault,” She dismissed him quickly. “I just wish this doctor would come sooner, I have better things to do today.”

“Like what?” He prompted. “Are you seeing Dorian?”

She narrowed her eyes at the way he always seemed to work Dorian into their conversations. “No. Why?”

“No reason.” He spoke far too quickly for it to be casual, but before she could speak the door behind her swung open and a doctor strode in. 

“Fenrys Moonbeam?” He asked, his voice curling smoothly around the words. “Dr Sam Cortland, now let’s see what we can do about that hand.”


	14. Chapter 14

Dr Sam Cortland stood tall with a mop of curly brown hair drooping across his forehead. He had a charmingly crooked smile, with rows of shining white teeth on display, that he flashed her as he breezed past Aelin to gently pick up Fenrys’ hand. His elegant fingers drew Fenrys’ arm up and into the light, twisting it around to get a better look. 

Fenrys was looking at her pointedly, and Aelin knew exactly what he would say the minute the doctor left the room. He was boyishly handsome, young for an ER doctor, and his brown eyes had a twinkling kind of mischief in them, despite the focus he directed at Fenrys’ hand. 

The skill with which he sewed the wound in Fenrys’ hand was impressive, and he made easy conversation while he did it, but she had left most of the task of conversing to Fenrys, only speaking when it would have been impolite to stay silent. She could easily recognise that he was attractive. Six months ago she might have slipped him her number, but now all she could think of was Rowan. 

All she could think of was how the doctor was slighter than Rowan, how his hair was dark where Rowan’s was a beautiful shade of silver. At the sight of his deep, brown eyes she could only compare them to the bright, forest green of Rowan’s. 

“It’s worse than it looks. A couple of little stitches will sort it out.” The doctor turned to Aelin, drawing her attention back to him. His accent was pleasant; something she couldn’t quite place with a mix of the harsh Rifthold twang. “I’m sure you’ve been very worried about your boyfriend, but he’ll be good as new in no time.”

Fenrys snorted, an obnoxious sound that drew the doctor’s attention back to him and away from where Aelin gawped. 

“My boyfriend?” She mumbled dumbly.

“Thanks Doctor, but-” Fenrys spoke quickly before he was interrupted. 

“Please,” He said with an easy smile directed at Aelin. “Call me Sam.”

Fenrys reached a hand towards her with a twinkle in his eye, “Ah Sam, if only Aelin had wanted me, what a power couple we could have been. But don’t worry, she is single.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, what was he playing at?

“Good to hear.” Her gaze snapped back to the doctor. His voice was quiet as he spoke, and a soft pink tint spread across the strip of neck that stood above the collar of his clean, white coat. 

Aelin was floundering,  _ good to hear _ ? Where had that come from, and where was her response? 

The doctor,  _ Sam _ , spoke again before she had a chance to find the words. “I just have to check these papers, then I’ll be back to discharge you.”

He gave her a small, closed-lipped smile as he left the room. One she almost didn’t manage to return. 

As soon as the door closed behind him Fenrys was on her. 

“What was that Galathynius?” He demanded. “He was flirting with you and I don’t think you actually spoke!”

“He wasn’t flirting with me,” She said quickly.

“Aelin please.” He leaned towards her, his voice pleading. “That was a hot doctor, do I need to repeat? A doctor. Who is hot, and flirting with you.”

“Stop,” She said.

“What’s the hold up?” He asked, seemingly unable to comprehend a reason Aelin wouldn't be as excited as he was. 

She took a breath. The hold up, she supposed, was Rowan. She still hadn’t had a chance to speak with him since their kiss, and so, she still wasn’t sure where they stood. 

Well, she didn’t know where  _ he _ stood. She knew she wanted to leave this hospital and forget all about the hot doctor and go home to the guy she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for months. 

Shit, she wanted Rowan. 

She laughed, a soft sigh of a sound, and turned to Fenrys who was still waiting on her response. She didn’t want to blurt out her reasoning for dismissing the doctor,  _ Sam, _ she reminded herself again, until she had spoken to Rowan. She didn’t want to gush about their kiss to Fenrys only to find out he regretted it. 

“Nothing, no hold up.” She rose from her chair. “I’ll go get us a ride home, meet you outside when he comes to let you out?”

Fenrys nodded as she fled. 

\-- 

“Hello?” His voice came out sounding far rougher than he had intended, and Rowan cleared his throat as Aelin spoke. 

“Hi. Are you busy?” 

Rowan blinked and sat up straight. He saw Aedion throw him a curious glance and he shook his head. Lorcan’s eyes remained shut despite the jostling and Rowan was convinced he had been asleep for a while.

“No, what’s up?” He asked. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak to her, quite the opposite in fact, he had spent far more time than he should have thinking of opportunities he could find to seek her out, but he was unsure why she would be calling him now. Especially if she was out with Fenrys. 

“I was going to ask for a ride,” She said, and he could hear the cheer in her voice already. “But now speaking to you I wonder if you’re safe to drive, you drank quite a bit last night.”

She finished with a laugh that Rowan couldn’t help but return.

“I didn’t drink that much.”

“No?” She asked, teasing him. “So you always sing like that?”

“There was no singing.” That Rowan remembered at least. “Was there?”

“I don’t know.” He could hear the opening and closing of a door and the sound of a siren in the background of her call. “Ask Elide, I think she has the video.”

Rowan bit his lip, he was pretty sure she was joking, there was no way he had drank that much. Despite her jokes being at his expense, he was enjoying the teasing and the brightness in her voice. He couldn't help the goofy smile he knew was dawning across his face, and he determinedly ignored the look Aedion still watched him with.

“I know you’re a liar,” He said and the giggle he received was incredible. “I didn’t drink so much I did anything I wouldn’t have done sober,” He continued, and from the soft catch in her breath he knew she caught his meaning. 

“Oh, good. Me too,” Aelin said softly, and Rowan couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips.

They still hadn’t spoken about the kiss, but they would, Rowan would make sure of it. And if Aelin’s reaction to his comment was anything to go by, Rowan had hope. 

“Where do you need picking up from?” He finally made his way back to the reason she had called him.

“We’re at the hospital, Rifthold General-”

Rowan cut her off. “The hospital? Are you alright?”

He knew it was rude, and nothing so far in their conversation had told him Aelin was anything other than fine, but the panic in his chest at her words had shocked him in its speed and intensity. 

“I’m fine,” There was a trace of laughter still in her voice. “It’s Fenrys, he’s just cut his hand, he’s fine.”

Rowan could feel guilty about the relief that filled him at another time. 

“Oh,” He knew she heard the relief, but kindly didn’t comment. “I can be there in twenty?”

“Thank you!” She cried, and again, Rowan knew the smile he wore was disgusting. 

He tapped the screen, ending the call, before he finally turned to Aedion.

“Who’s at the hospital?” His friend’s voice was all too innocent.

Rowan narrowed his eyes at the unspoken accusation. It was right, but he wasn’t at the point of admitting that to Aedion yet. At least not until he had spoken to Aelin. 

Rowan thought the oath they had all sworn was pretty much redundant now, he knew Aedion only had the best intentions mixed with a rogue streak of overprotectiveness, but Rowan had no intention of hurting Aelin. And Aedion knew that, at least Rowan thought. 

“Aelin and Fenrys.” 

“They okay?” Aedion seemed to be feeling some genuine concern.

Rowan nodded as he stood from the couch.

“Good,” Aedion spoke as he settled back into the sofa next to a still sleeping Lorcan, the man could sleep through anything. Rowan shook his head and headed to grab his keys. 

\-- 

The hospital wasn’t far from the loft, and he crossed this distance at a more reasonable pace than he would have done had Aelin been hurt. He and Aedion were the only two in the loft with cars, there wasn’t a need for them in the city, nor was there space to park. The loft came with one space in an underground parking garage, which Aedion took with the argument that Rowan’s car was a piece of shit and far less valuable than his own. 

Which it was. But it had been a gift from his parents after his graduation from college, and it still ran, so he kept it. It turned out to be useful in times like these. 

Rowan found a space quickly and made his way to the entrance of the emergency department. He spotted Aelin quickly once he had passed through the doors. Gods, she was beautiful. 

He took her in from head to toe before finally drawing his eyes up again to rest on her face and the polite smile she wore. The curve to her pink lips was enticing, and he wanted to press his own lips to hers again. He thought she would let him, and a bloom of excitement appeared in his stomach.

Aelin turned slightly towards him, and the intensity of her smile only increased when she spotted him. He felt his own grow without a thought and took a step towards her when an arm was slung across his shoulders. 

“Thanks for coming to get us man, I didn't think I could have walked with this.” Fenrys held a bandaged hand up in front of Rowan, blocking his view of Aelin. 

Rowan lifted an arm to gently lower Fenrys’ hand. “You’re alright I see, what happened?”

Fenrys laughed, “It’s a story with any number of twists and turns and a negligent supermarket. You could probably sue them for me.” Fenrys’ voice took an imaginative turn. “But I’m all good, the hot doctor stitched me up.”

“The hot doctor?” Rowan regretted the question the moment it was asked, but the regret only increased when Fenrys lifted his injured hand to point over to where Aelin stood. 

Rowan hadn’t noticed the man she stood with, and wished he still hadn’t. The guy was handsome, Rowan wasn’t blind, and he had his charm turned up to the max as he spoke with Aelin. 

His eyes snapped to Aelin, attempting to get a read on her thoughts on the hot doctor, but he didn’t gain much. She only wore a small smile as she nodded along to whatever the doctor was saying. Her hands were in her pockets, and she removed one to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear. 

Rowan swallowed. He knew Fenrys clocked the movement. 

“Hot right?” Rowan rolled his eyes, finally dragging them away from Aelin and the doctor to shoot Fenrys a glare. “And he’s definitely into her.”

Rowan stiffened even further, but Fenrys continued.

“She should go for it,” Rowan took a deep breath at the words. “Unless there was a reason for her not to.”

Rowan released the breath in a big gust. “Why would there be a reason for her not to?” He managed at last. 

Fenrys was the joker of their group of friends, always the one to lighten it up if conversation ever got heavy, not that it often did between them. He seemed to have an endless supply of shit jokes that by now Rowan and Lorcan had built up a resistance to, but now he faced Rowan with a serious look. 

“I’m just saying, she barely paid attention to the doctor in the room, even though he tried to get her attention more than once.”

“Yeah?” He shouldn’t have bitten, and a spark of the usual cunning in Fenrys’ eyes returned, but he needed to know. 

“You know what I’d tell the guy who clearly holds her attention at the moment?” Rowan looked back over to where Aelin had snuck a glance over to the two of them. “I’d tell him not to waste his time, or the next time a hot doctor calls she might not ignore him.”

Rowan swallowed, and shoved his hands deeply into his pockets. Aelin turned back to the doctor, said a few final words, and turned on her heel to head over towards him and Fenrys. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said finally, and Fenrys sighed, but didn’t say another word as Aelin approached. 

“Hey,” She said with a shy smile. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing,” Rowan said quickly, ignoring the jab Fenrys stabbed into his side. 

He  _ was _ going to talk to Aelin, he didn’t need  _ Fenrys _ giving him any advice, the most romance Rowan had seen him experience was whatever he had going on with Aelin’s co-worker, and Rowan still doubted that that had come to anything yet. 

“Are you ready to go?” He asked and watched Aelin send a barely perceptible glance to where the doctor had last stood, but then she turned back to him and smiled.

“Ready.”

\-- 

Doctor Sam had been sweet, if not somewhat fumbling, when he had slipped her his number before they left the hospital. It had only been chance that Rowan had walked through the double doors of the emergency department the moment he had handed the card over, and she knew he had caught the smile she had worn at the sight of Rowan. 

He had courteously backed off, telling her not to worry about it.  _ I get it, _ he had said with a soft smile,  _ if it doesn’t work out give me a call _ . Aelin doubted she would ever use the number, doubted the card it was scrawled across would see the light of day again. Especially not if her plan worked out in her favour. 

She had picked this nightgown for a reason. It was a shimmering and glittering metallic gold silk that flowed loosely from the thin straps across her shoulders. It clung to her chest and hips, dipping low and emphasising the gentle curves of her body and the dip of her waist.

She was independent enough to know she never needed to dress for a man, but damn if she hadn’t worn this specifically for Rowan. She craved the reaction she knew this nightgown would elicit.

She padded through to the living room, but the worn brown sofa was empty with the television switched off. Rowan had been here a minute ago. She curled her hands into fists, she didn’t want to lose her nerve, and continued through to the kitchen. 

She could hear the sound of water as she rounded the corner and spotted his frame hunched over the sink.

He was ready for bed as she was, loose grey pants hung from his hips and a faded green t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. The shifting of the muscles in his back could be seen through the material as he moved at the sink and she swallowed. 

His head snapped to the side at the sound as she leaned against the doorway.

His eyes widened at the sight of her and she registered the clink of a dish against the steel sink. He spun to face her and water dropped down from his fists where they clenched at his sides. 

“Hey,” she murmured.

He swallowed, and the sound was audible in the silence of the room. 

She watched him take one, very careful, sweep of his eyes down her body and she felt her cheeks blush and her muscles clench under the intensity of his stare. 

Rowan seemed to be frozen, his expression almost pained, and his mouth hung slightly open as he took her in. His eyes snapped to hers, their green almost black in the shadows, and didn’t stray from her as he reached to the side for a towel to dry his hands. 

“Aelin,” He said, his voice low as she took a step further into the room. “I, um-”

He swallowed again.

“What are you doing here?”

She laughed as she reached the section of countertop opposite him and the air between them seemed to crackle with anticipation.

“I do live here,” She teased, “You know this.”

He let out a gust of air through his nose, a telltale sign that he didn’t want to find what she had said funny but did anyway. She smiled, leaning back into the counter behind her and crossing her legs at the ankles. 

“I just wanted to see you, I haven’t seen you, or spoken to you after yesterday.” She admitted, laying clear her reasons for seeking him out. 

Rowan cocked his head, the roots of a smile beginning on his handsome face. 

“You’ve seen me since then, and spoken to me.” 

Aelin would have rolled her eyes had he not stepped closer, the heat from his body spilling into her, but he didn’t touch her. 

“You know what I mean,” She said, not managing to hold back her whine. 

“Do I?” He asked, he was definitely playing with her now, and he placed his palm down on the counter at her side. The hairs on her arm stood at his proximity, but he still held back from making contact. “Enlighten me. Please?” 

The rasp of his voice, so close to the shell of her ear sent a shiver through her. The ball was in her court and she supposed it was only right. He had kissed her, and even though she had done nothing but think about it since, she hadn’t let Rowan know where they stood. At least on her end. 

“You kissed me,” She began softly and she tilted her chin back to look up at him. 

“I did,” His words were careful. His face was only inches from hers and she felt the soft tickle as his breath drifted across her face. 

He wasn’t going to make this easy for her; he was going to make her work for it. And gods if that didn’t send a thrill through her. 

It was make or break time and Aelin knew what she wanted. “I was hoping you’d do it again. More.”

The smile that spread across Rowan’s face was wide and the light from beneath their cupboards glinted against one of his canines. 

“More?” He repeated, almost breathlessly. His free hand came up to cup her cheek and she took a sharp intake of breath. The smell of him drove her crazy, something musky and masculine, with the hint of pine trees and snow. “Like this?”

He trailed the hand from her cheek down her throat and past her breast, his fingers only lightly brushing the side. He drew a path from there to her waist, her skin burning beneath his touch, until he travelled further, his fingertips brushing the hem of her nightgown to find their place again at her thigh. 

Aelin could only nod, couldn’t find the words to respond past the flurry of arousal spreading through her. 

Her approval seemed to spur Rowan on, and he took his hand from the counter and wrapped it tightly around her waist. The hand brushing her thigh wrapped around the skin and lifted until she sat atop the counter, Rowan crowded between her spread legs. She could feel her pulse pounding through her body, deep and hot, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

His palm splayed wide up the side of her thigh and slid beneath the hem of her nightgown. She tilted her head back at the sensation, baring her throat to him, as she leaned back into the arm he held around her waist. 

She was dangerously turned on now as Rowan’s hand crept higher and higher to brush against the lace covering her hip. 

“Something like this?” He asked. 

She could barely find the words but somehow managed a breathy, “Yes.”

He slid his hand higher, until it was firmly gripping her hip beneath her dress, and used his other hand to pull her even tighter against his body. The warmth of him between her legs sent her eyes rolling into the back of her head as he let out a dark laugh. 

“What is it with us and this kitchen?” He asked, mostly to himself, and she couldn’t look away from him as he spoke. She barely registered the question but managed to shrug as she twisted her fingers through his hair, the motion dragging her front lightly against his with a torturous gentleness. 

“What more would you like from me now?” His question both a taunt and a promise. 

“Kiss me,” She begged. Rowan broke the eye contact they shared to glance down at their bodies pressed tightly together, her legs spread for him with her ankles locked behind him, and her core so close to his groin. “Please.”

He let out a breath before glancing back up to her. He leaned impossibly closer to her and she felt her eyes flutter shut. She tilted her head up, ready for the heat of his lips against hers once more, but it didn’t come. 

Instead she felt his lips press to the junction of her skin between her neck and shoulder. She gasped and tightened her legs around his waist. Her eyes snapped open and she glanced down to where he looked up at her, his lips hovering over her neck. The sight had her burning even hotter inside, and she shifted against the counter, needing some friction from him. 

He didn’t miss the motion and clamped his hands firmly on her hips, pulling her impossibly closer, the waistband of his trousers pressed exactly where she needed him and his eyes narrowed at the soft moan she couldn’t hold back. 

His mouth returned to her neck, but instead of a kiss, he scraped his teeth lightly down her throat. She gasped at the sensation and she wasn’t sure she had been this turned on in a while, or  _ ever _ . She needed him. Now. 

His teeth closed lightly around the flesh of her neck and she yanked on his hair. 

“Please.” 

He pressed a featherlight kiss to the skin he had bitten and pulled his head back. 

“No,” He said quietly and she jerked. 

“No?” Aelin knew she was frowning now. 

“No.” He repeated and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I want to take you to dinner first. If you’d like.”

Despite the fire burning through her, she smiled softly at him. “Dinner?”

She loosened her hands in his hair and dropped them to his shoulders. 

“Dinner.” He nodded. “Are you free some time this week?”

Aelin laughed and ducked her head. “I’m sure I could find somewhere to fit you in.”

“Great,” He said into her hair, loosening the hold he had on her hips, and taking a small step back. “I’ll plan something nice.”

“Can’t wait.”

Aelin knew she looked absolutely ruined, and he hadn’t even kissed her. She wasn’t embarrassed though, she knew what she’d find if she dared to let her eyes drop to the front of Rowan’s trousers. 

She couldn’t stop the small smile that crept across her lips as she hopped off the counter top. She trailed a hand down his arm as she stepped around him to leave the kitchen and head to bed. She wanted to grab his hand and pull her behind him, but she knew going down this path meant more, and she was glad of it.

As she left, Aelin took a final look back at him, his hair was mussed and there was a slight colouring along the high lines of his cheekbones. 

He was gorgeous, and he had just asked her to dinner. She couldn’t wait. 


	15. Chapter 15

“My saviour.”

Aelin hurried her final few steps through the hallway towards where Dorian stood, her heels clacking along the linoleum flooring and echoing through the now silent hallways of the school. 

“Thank you,” She gasped as she closed her fingers around the royal blue mug he held in an outstretched hand and the scent of freshly brewed coffee swirled around her. She breathed it in deeply as she took her first sip, relaxing into the rich taste and the anticipation of the caffeine induced energy boost she knew was imminent.

“Anytime.” Dorian’s smile was charming as he slid into place beside her as they headed to the corridor bearing both of their classrooms. 

“I needed this,” Aelin spoke as they covered ground. “Rutting Fenrys rushed me out the loft so quickly this morning, something about an early meeting with Maeve, as if that’s somehow more important than coffee.”

Aelin shrugged as she finished, her main concern with the rush had been that she had missed out on her second cup of coffee this morning, but Dorian’s brow pulled in tight.

“Is he-” He cleared his throat as his walk slowed. “Is everything alright?”

Aelin slowed her pace to match the crawl Dorian had adopted and she tilted her head to the side to shoot him a look of confusion. It wasn’t like Dorian to stumble over his words. 

“Yes, I think so,” Aelin began slowly. “He mentioned something about funding for a trip. For one of the sports teams maybe, I- Why are you blushing?”

A delightful, soft rose tint had graced the planes of Dorian’s high cheekbones. He turned away from her slightly but Aelin shot out a hand to grasp his bicep and pulled him back around to face her. 

Aelin tugged him to a stop as she said, “Explain.”

Dorian brought a hand up to brush back one of the raven curls draped across his forehead. “I think I’m going on the trip too.”

Aelin narrowed her eyes, suspicion burying its hooks deep within her. “Why would  _ you _ volunteer to go on a school trip outside of work time? And a sports trip at that.”

A flicker of expression shadowed his face before he carefully schooled it into calm. “Fenrys and I have been… speaking.”

Dorian phrased it like a question and Aelin’s mouth dropped open in an onset of shock. 

“You and Fenrys speaking? Like…  _ you and Fenrys _ ?” 

Dorian nodded. “I think so.”

“How did I not know this?” Aelin cried. “Is  _ everyone _ keeping their relationship a secret from me?”

“Aelin,” Dorian began his walk again and she hurried to keep up. “It’s not a relationship, we’ve mostly just been texting. No big deal and-”

“It is a big deal,” Aelin interjected. She held her free hand up in surrender when he shot her an unimpressed look. 

“It’s not a big deal, and it’s nothing serious.” He told her with an air of finality and she knew not to push it any further.

Aelin had known of their brief hook-up years before she had got the job at the school, but she had to admit she hadn’t expected anything more to bloom between the two. 

It had, quite possibly, been a bit of an oversight on her behalf. She had noticed Fenrys perking up whenever Dorian was mentioned, and he had always found a reason to appear whenever she had brought Dorian around to the loft. 

Even most recently in the hospital, he had jerked to attention the moment she had mentioned Dorian. 

“You scoundrel,” She said with the beginnings of a wicked grin, unable to resist one last taunt. “Using a school funded trip as a romantic getaway with your man.” 

Dorian only winked at her, “Would you expect anything less?”

Aelin laughed, the sound a sinful cackle. From Dorian and Fenrys? No, probably not.

“And,” He continued. “You can’t talk about keeping secrets. You’ve gone radio silent on Rowan recently, and I bet if anything  _ bad _ had happened I would know about it.”

It was Aelin’s turn to blush. She hadn’t told anyone Rowan had asked her on a date yet. She had wanted to keep it just to herself for a little while, at least until after the date had occurred. 

He had asked her out a couple of days ago now, but with Aelin working in the daytime and the majority of Rowan’s shifts being concentrated in the evenings, they were still yet to find a chance. Aelin was bursting with anticipation and she had struggled to sleep during most of the nights since their recent encounter in the kitchen. 

An element of her insomnia was the excitement, her anticipation to finally be on a date with  _ Rowan _ , but a large part, arguably the  _ largest _ part, was the knowledge that Rowan slept just across the hall from her. It would be so easy for her to tiptoe across the space and into his room, into his bed, and to be faced with Rowan. 

Rowan who she had now kissed, who she had been pressed up against, the heat of his body burning every inch of her own. But she knew she couldn’t cross that gap, both physically and metaphorically. At least not yet anyway. 

Rowan had been the one to press the brakes on the two of them, and Aelin knew it was coming from a place of respect rather than a lack of desire, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to temper the part of her brain that wanted to throw all caution to the wind and-

“Damn,” Dorian laughed. “It must be really bad for you to end up  _ that _ inside your own head.”

Aelin bit her lip. She hadn’t told anyone, not even Lysandra, but surely telling Dorian couldn’t hurt. 

“Just promise me you won’t tell Fenrys.”

“Gods, that bad?” Dorian joked. 

“It’s not bad, just don’t tell him.” She said simply.

Dorian nodded his agreement. “Promise.”

“It’s not bad at all,” She began with a coy smile. “He asked me on a date.”

Dorian’s returning smile was wide as he took her in. “Took him long enough,” was all he said with a slight laugh, before he continued, “When?” 

“The weekend.”

Aelin knew she wore a doelike smile, one she couldn’t help at the thought of Rowan. She was excited, sue her. It felt like she had been waiting for herself and Rowan to reach this point since she moved into the loft, and their relationship had only gone from strength to strength since she moved in. It felt as if her anticipation was reaching the climax, but there was relief that went hand in hand with it. 

Rowan was right along with her, treading steadily by her side as they stepped down the path of whatever it was that was coming their way. 

He had been the one to kiss her, and the one to ask her on a date. Aelin knew where she stood with him, and where he stood with her, for the first time in what felt like a long time and the feeling was reassuring; it allowed her to relax into the excitement she held. 

“What are you doing?” Dorian asked. “Something outdoors?”

“Why something outdoors?” Aelin laughed and Dorian shrugged his shoulders. 

“I don’t know, seems to fit Rowan.” 

Aelin laughed again, she knew Rowan enjoyed the outdoors, maybe slightly more than the average individual, but she wasn’t sure something like that was what he had meant when he had promised to plan something nice.

“No,” Aelin said, pausing to take a sip of her coffee. “I think we’re getting dinner.”

She still struggled to contain the smile that wanted to dawn, the joy that ran through her at the thought was almost childlike and free. 

“The classic,” Dorian teased, but Aelin was unbothered. She truly didn’t care whether or not Rowan took her for a simple dinner or an extravagant adventure. Spending time with him was enough.

“Shut up,” She laughed, swatting the air between them. “I’ve got further than you.”

“Now that’s not exactly true, is it?”

Aelin snorted, almost spitting her drink across the hallway. Dorian’s smile was perfectly innocent, no sign of the act his comment was alluding to and she shook her head. 

It wouldn’t be long, Aelin was sure, until she and Rowan were there too. 

\-- 

The week had dragged on for Rowan. A seemingly endless cycle of mindless shifts at the bar, and stealing snippets of time with Aelin in the loft during the limited hours they were both in the apartment. The time they shared had never seemed so brief as now when he craved her so.

Rowan had enjoyed those stolen moments, filled with the desire to simply reach out and touch. He longed to kiss her lips again, but he had promised he would only do so after their date. 

He had settled himself to tracing his fingertips down the line of her hand, tracing the delicate lines and pathways of her veins beneath her golden skin. He had allowed himself the pleasure of tucking a rogue lock of hair behind her ear, and relished in the spark that bloomed within him when he lightly caressed his thumb down the shell of her ear. 

Rowan longed for their date, and for the end of the night that would inevitably follow. The date itself was a long time coming to Rowan, and he didn’t wish to rush through it, he wanted to savour the moment and the image of Aelin sat beautifully across from him, but there was an impatience within him for the part that came after.

The part where he would finally allow himself the sweet touch of Aelin’s lips against his own once again. 

He had managed to drift through the week, spurred on by the evernearing climax he could sense along the horizon. Rowan had managed to trade his Saturday night shift with an older bartender named Malakai in order to take Aelin out. The older man had only shaken his head, and assured Rowan to take the time he needed to treat his  _ special lady _ . 

Something about the comment had thrown Rowan somewhat. His lady.  _ Aelin _ .

The idea was both exhilarating and terrifying. It filled him with warmth in his chest and a churning in his stomach simultaneously. 

He fiddled with his collar as he scrutinised himself in the mirror. Rowan had been ready for a while, but the nervous energy within him was channelling itself into mindless motions and fluttering hands. 

He had swapped his usual flannel and baggy jeans for a crisp, white shirt and a new pair of dark jeans. Smarter attire than usual, fitting for the occasion, but relaxed by the couple of buttons undone at the top of his collar. He had thrown a jumper over the shirt, hoping to fight off any of the approaching chill in the air of a late summer night in Adarlan. 

They weren’t going far, but he wanted to make sure he was prepared. 

He had chosen a relatively nice restaurant for their date, one only a couple of blocks from the loft, but he hadn’t wanted to go anywhere overly formal. He thought a more relaxed environment fit himself and Aelin better than something stiff and uptight. 

There weren’t many secrets between them, living together and across the hall from each other didn’t allow for many to exist. He had chosen a setting for them to enjoy each other’s company, they didn’t need a candlelit dinner while they discussed their favourite colours, they didn’t need to sip champagne while they compared their careers. 

Rowan had never been on a first date like it, he knew Aelin so well by now and truthfully, it didn’t feel much different than the dinners they had eaten together in the past. There was a level of comfortability between them that most of the usual first-date fears were absent. 

Rowan felt as if his fears were different to those preceding a usual first date. This was  _ Aelin _ , and he couldn’t bear to let her down. He wanted to make it special and a night that she would remember. 

He had chosen to send her a text with the details, and he had heard her laugh through the walls when she had received it. It was exactly the response he had hoped to receive, and now he assumed she was tucked away in her bedroom getting ready. 

It was almost time for him to cross the hall, and he was struggling to hold back. His foot had been tapping on the ground for a while and he pressed a hand to his knee, hoping to halt the pounding. 

Finally he gave up, sure that five minutes wouldn’t make that much of a difference to Aelin anyway. He swung his door open and crossed the hall in a second to knock gently against Aelin’s door. Within a second she swung the door open and Rowan lost any attempt at a greeting.

He could only marvel as he took her in. Aelin looked truly phenomenal. 

Her hair was curled and flowed down the length of her back, with the front tresses pinned back behind her ears. She wore a black dress covered in small, shining,  _ golden _ stars that hit mid thigh leaving her toned legs on display until they tucked away into small black boots at her feet. 

He knew from the gentle way she bit her lip she was waiting for him to speak and a whisper of a smirk crept up into the corner of her lips. Rowan cleared his throat. 

“Hi.” His voice was rough, but Aelin’s smile dawned into a full smile. One Rowan knew he returned. 

“Hi,” She mimicked, her voice soft. 

He allowed himself the luxury of a moment to take her in. To track his eyes down her face and back up, taking in the brightness of the blue in her eyes, the flush of her skin and the shining golden highlights through her hair. 

“Aelin,” He breathed. “You look incredible.”

Aelin preened at the compliment, her smile spreading even wider as she leaned to brace herself in the doorframe. 

“Thank you, and you too.” 

Rowan bit his lip at the appreciative look in her own eyes as she took him in. He fought the embarrassment that teased his senses at her appraisal and attempted to lean into the flattery that accompanied it.

“Ready to go?” He asked. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I’m curious where you’re taking me though,” She said with another easy smile as she turned to grab her small shoulder bag off her bed. 

Rowan watched the motion and the glimpse of thigh the waves of her skirt allowed him as she spun. He couldn’t take his eyes off her and he couldn’t believe she had agreed to go on a date with him. Or the level of pure joy radiating from her at the prospect. 

He straightened himself as something settled in his stomach at the thought. Aelin reached him again and he offered her an arm. 

“You haven’t got much longer to wait before you find out; I’m not ruining the surprise now,” He told her as she slipped her arm around his own and stepped out of her bedroom.

“Do I look okay for where we’re going?” She asked, looking down at herself suddenly vulnerable. 

Incredulity struck him, at the idea that Aelin could look anything less than perfect. He couldn’t hold himself back from dropping a faint kiss to the top of her head. “You look perfect.”

A beautiful cloud of rose dusted her cheeks and Rowan smiled again, he was sure this was the most he had smiled in a long time. 

“So, dinner?” He asked as they stepped into the hallway by the door. 

“Dinner,” Aelin agreed as she slipped her arm from his to slide into her coat.

“You guys are getting dinner?” Lorcan appeared in front of them and Rowan froze. 

Only a moment later the front door to the loft opened at Rowan’s side and Aedion and Lysandra strode into the loft, tucked up in jackets from wherever they had been. 

“Oh, hello,” Aedion laughed at the apparent welcome party. “Are we all heading out somewhere?”

Rowan cursed the gods as Lorcan spoke again. “Dinner.”

Aedion nodded appreciatively and looked to Lysandra who only quirked a brow. Rowan braced himself for Aedion to deliver the damning verdict. “Great, we’ll join.”

Rowan could only look to Aelin, unable to hide the mild panic he knew was stark on his face. Aelin looked back up at him, and from the twist of her mouth he knew she wasn’t thrilled, but was frozen in the same predicament he was in. 

They couldn’t, or didn’t  _ want _ to, reveal their exact plans for the night. 

Rowan had wanted to keep this just for the two of them, at least for the night, and he knew Aelin felt the same. 

“We weren’t going anywhere exciting,” He tried, and Aelin attempted her agreement at his side. 

Aedion shook his head, still painfully oblivious. “No big deal, I’m not sure I’m up for anything too fancy now.” 

“Is Fenrys coming?” Lorcan asked as he pulled on his trainers, and Rowan squeezed his hands lightly into fists at his sides. His head snapped to the side when he felt Aelin’s touch at his wrist, she linked her smallest finger through his own, tucked out of sight behind his back. 

She looked up to him, a small smile across her painted lips accompanied by an amused look in her eyes, and he knew she was disappointed but he understood the gesture. He could feel his own annoyance fading into an amused acceptance, and he offered her a small closed-lipped smile of his own as he gazed down at her. 

Rowan knew that dating Aelin would never be fully separate from their roommates, and even though he still needed to speak with Aedion he knew they would be supportive. He had just expected to make it through their first date before their roommates interfered. 

He rolled his shoulders back and gave Aelin’s fingers a gentle squeeze, hoping to convey his disappointment through his touch. Her returning squeeze reassured him she was more than alright with the turn their night had taken. 

He flashed her a soft smile before detangling their fingers and turning to face the group now assembled by the door.

“Someone get Fenrys, and quickly,” He instructed as he leaned into what the night had become. 

\-- 

Aelin had not expected to spend her first date with Rowan jammed in between her cousin and Lorcan in a booth at some chain restaurant downtown. She had expected a romantic evening, where the two of them would have had a chance to talk and drink and laugh. She had been looking forward to spending time with Rowan, and getting to know him as truly more than just her roommate, more than her crush. 

She had been looking forward to watching him across from her, watching the way he talked and the expressions he made when he did. Rowan didn’t often get animated in a group, but around her he loosened his inhibitions, and she enjoyed watching him come alive. 

She could never take her eyes off the way his hands would gesticulate as he spoke about something he was passionate about in the brief moments where he did. Sometimes it was the bar, sometimes it was sports and other times there were topics she had never expected from him. It was easy to forget that he had studied law at university, he liked to keep his intelligence understated, but there were times when it was hard to miss.

Aelin was a little disappointed to have missed out on the opportunity to enjoy that side of Rowan, but she was comforted by the fact she knew they would get to reschedule, and by the knowledge she was still going home with him tonight either way. She was also determined to get her kiss afterwards, whether or not this had managed to qualify as a date or not. 

The small smiles he offered her over the table helped too. The smiles that said ‘ _ we know something they don’t _ ’ as their roommates chattered away around them. 

She pursed her lips around her straw at him as Fenrys jabbed a fork aggressively at Lorcan and Lysandra cackled.  _ They’re clueless, not sure how much we can blame them _ . 

His own shake of his head as he bit back a laugh told her more than enough.  _ I can blame those idiots as much as I want _ . 

Aelin forced herself to take another drink to cover her laugh. Rowan’s eyes were sparkling and there was a lightness to his shoulders as she took him in as he lay back in his chair between Fenrys and Lysandra.

The shirt and jumper combination had thrown her the moment she had swung her door open. Rowan didn’t often dress fancy, in fact the only time she could remember seeing him in something other than his usual uniform of a flannel and jeans was at the wedding a few months ago. 

The colour of his jumper over the top of his shirt did wonders for him, highlighting the tan of his skin and the brightness of his green eyes. Or maybe that was just Rowan. 

She couldn’t remember a time where she hadn’t taken the opportunity to just observe him. To observe the beauty in the line of his brow, the handsomeness in the cut of his jaw. Her mouth had dried as she had watched him and she lifted a hand to take yet another sip of her water. 

“Aelin?” Lysandra’s voice snapped her to attention. 

“Yes?” She asked after taking a large sip. 

“Was he as hot as Fenrys is making out?” It was only then she realised the attention of all those at the table was directed at her. 

Rowan  _ was _ hot, but Aelin wasn’t convinced that was who Lysandra’s question was regarding. 

“Who?” Gods, she had been far too lost in Rowan to even attempt to follow the conversation at the table. 

“The doctor, from the other day?”

Lysandra’s final question had taken on a different edge to the others, her voice soft and an unusual look in her green eyes. Surprise, intrigue, and an element of… was that suspicion?

Aelin cleared her throat and dared to look across to Rowan. His expression was carefully guarded, hidden was the amusement they had shared only moments before as he watched her from across the table. 

He wasn’t the only one doing so. The others at the table, even Lorcan, had turned to her, each waiting for her response. 

“Um, yeah. I guess.” Aelin had little interest in discussing the supposed ‘hotness’ of the doctor from the other day. She wasn’t even sure she knew where the paper with his number on had ended up. 

“Damn, Aelin,” Aedion jeered. “Why’s he not here now then?”

Aelin flicked her eyes between Fenrys and Rowan. Fenrys was all too knowing. A twist at the corner of his mouth was the only visible hint of his discomfort, and she followed his gaze as it flicked to Rowan. 

He wore a deliberately careful and mild smile as he watched her, and she hoped her expression conveyed the level of dismissal she gave to the doctor. If not, she hoped her words would convey exactly how she felt. 

“I wasn’t interested,” She said plainly. “He was nice about it.”

“Not interested in a hot doctor?” Aedion scoffed. “At least go on a date, I can’t imagine how much luxury a doctor’s salary could get you. Probably at least champagne.”

Aelin laughed, a little weakly, desperately finding a way to change the subject. Rowan’s expression was a little less guarded, but she wanted him back to the amusement they had shared earlier. 

She nudged his foot under the table with her own, and was beyond grateful when he returned the gesture with a small smile. The twinkle in his eyes had returned, if only a little dimmed. 

Aelin sighed and allowed a slow smile to spread across her face. “If he’s so perfect Aedion, I might be able to set you up somehow.”

Her cousin only stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed, she heard the rest of the table laugh too. 

“Sorry, Lys,” She said with a grin and her friend only shrugged. 

“I know where I’m beaten.”

“Hey,” Aedion sounded offended at the thought and leaned across the table to press a kiss to his girlfriend’s cheek. Aelin smiled at the gesture and looked back to Rowan. 

Soon. 

Soon they’d finish dinner, and Aelin had plans for him. 

\-- 

The walk home had likely been his favourite part of the evening. They had split off into subgroups for the short walk back to the loft, Aedion and Lysandra walked ahead, their linked hands swinging in the space between them. As much as Rowan had disliked his friend’s teasing at dinner he was happy for his friend, and it was clear to him that Aedion’s relationship was serious. More serious than Rowan had seen Aedion before. 

Lorcan and Fenrys had taken up the rear, debating something Rowan was deliberately tuning out as he enjoyed the feeling of Aelin tucked into his side. Her arm had wrapped around his own, her hand tucking into the crook of his elbow and her other hand reached across her body to hold the bicep of the arm she gripped. 

It felt delightful to have her there, and he didn’t care about the looks Fenrys was throwing him. He knew what he and Aelin looked like, and he didn’t care. It felt good. Felt good that Rowan was here with Aelin like this. Not the doctor. 

Rowan wasn’t petty enough to feel jealousy that the doctor the other day had given Aelin his number, or at least he thought. There was something in his stomach, the only thing that came close to bringing him out of this moment, that he couldn’t quite name. A feeling he couldn’t quite pin down. 

They reached the loft having walked in relative silence, but it hadn’t been an awkward journey. It had been relaxed, and satisfied, and  _ easy _ with Aelin. 

They each went their separate ways once in the loft, and he led Aelin to the small stretch of hallway that housed both of their bedrooms. 

This was the moment he had been waiting for all night. 

She turned to him, releasing his arm as she bit her bottom lip slightly. Rowan couldn’t peel his eyes away until she finally spoke. 

“That wasn’t quite what I expected,” She said with a soft laugh. 

Rowan shook his head, laughing himself. “No, me neither. I will take you on a date properly soon, if you want to.”

He couldn’t stop himself from adding that last part. Aelin only tilted her head and took a step closer to him. She placed a hand gently on his chest as the smell of her surrounded Rowan. The fruity scent was enticing and he wanted to bury his face in her neck and breathe her in. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m still saying that tonight was our first date.” 

Aelin was even closer to him now as she spoke and he raised a hand from his side to rest gently at her waist. The fabric of her dress slid between his fingers and he pulled her into himself slightly. 

“Really?” He couldn’t help the tone of disbelief he used. 

He hadn’t had a bad night, far from it in fact. He enjoyed spending time with his roommates, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to have lived with them for so long if he didn’t, but Rowan wasn’t sure he would have pictured their group dinner as his and Aelin’s first date. 

“Yep,” She said, tilting her face up towards him and Rowan lifted his other hand to cup the back of her neck. His eyes were flickering up and down, an endless race between her eyes and her lips. “And I know what you promised me after our date.”

Rowan couldn’t help the wide smile he wore at her words. The realisation that she was as desperate as he was for their lips to touch again. 

“Oh yeah?” He asked, rearranging his hand to rest more comfortably against the back of her head, his fingers slipping between the thick strands of her golden hair. “And what was that?”

Aelin lightly pinched his shoulder but rose up onto her tiptoes to finally press her lips to his. 

Rowan could have sunk into this feeling forever. The spark that lit within him at her touch ignited, burning brightly as Aelin leaned even deeper into him, her lips opened in a soft gasp as her hand lifted from his shoulder to wrap around his neck. 

Rowan breathed her in as he tasted her on his tongue. Aelin was divine, sweet and addictive. He chased her, wanting more and more and  _ more _ . Too much wasn’t enough. 

He only recognised that they had moved when the knuckles of his hand wrapped through her hair hit a solid surface. He had walked her backwards to the wall and at the realisation that he now boxed her in he drew back from her. 

His breaths came fast and his heart was pounding ferociously in his chest as he gazed down silently at her. Aelin’s eyes fluttered open slowly as a broad smile bloomed. 

Her cheeks were flushed from the kiss and Rowan risked one last press of his lips against her own. Unable to beat the urge to taste her again. 

What he had intended to be a brush of lips Aelin stole control of. She locked her arms around his neck and held him to her, parting her lips for him again. Rowan took and took, unable to fight the desire building deep inside of him. 

Aelin gasped against his lips as he removed his hand from her hair to hold her waist and lift her to him slightly. The sound sparked him, and he felt… He couldn't describe how he felt. He never wanted to stop, but Aelin’s gasp had reminded him where they stood. 

Rowan pressed her against the wall in the hallway of the loft they shared with the others. They stood so wrapped up in each other that if anyone stumbled upon them denial would be an impossibility.

Rowan went to step back but Aelin rose forward and pressed one last gentle brush of a kiss against his lips before leaning back on her heels and releasing her arms from around his shoulders. 

“Goodnight, Aelin,” He whispered, unable to muster anything more than a breathy whisper. 

Aelin seemed in the same state as him. Her pupils were blown wide and her lips were a dusty shade of just-kissed pink. Rowan wanted to kiss her again. 

“Night, Rowan,” She whispered, just as quietly as he had spoken. 

Rowan took a step back and smiled down at her as she smiled up at him. He slowly backed across the hallway until he stood in front of his own door, his hand braced on the handle. 

Aelin offered him a final, dreamlike smile before she slipped inside her bedroom. Rowan crept into his own and threw himself straight onto his bed. 

His mind was blissfully restful as he lay, staring at the ceiling, replaying every touch he and Aelin had shared. His mind ran over all the details of their night, from the smile she had worn when she opened the door to greet him, to the feeling of her arm wrapped around his. 

The unspoken words they had shared, wearing mutually knowing smiles, had warmed him and he fought off a smile at the thought. 

She had rejected the mention of the doctor, quite outright, which relieved him, but the feeling from before had crept back into his stomach. 

He still couldn’t place it, but as he lay, his thoughts came together, and he reached over to the side for his laptop. He sat himself up in bed, this wouldn’t take long, and typed a few words into the search bar of his browser. 


	16. Chapter 16

The following week could only be described as _bliss_. 

Aelin barely registered the time passing, swept up in a haze of Rowan. The haze of his presence, his conversation, his _touch_.

Everything about him was exciting now in a way that was different than it had been before. Spending time in the bar as a group was a regular occurrence while Rowan had shifts, but now each night they visited she made sure to curl her hair and prime her makeup just _so_. She wanted to look her best, even though these nights still weren’t their long-awaited first date. 

Rowan had promised her it was coming, if she could be patient enough to wait for the next weekend when they were both free. She had barely been able to agree, desperately excited after the tease that had been the last weekend. 

Their group dinner had only made her crave time alone with Rowan more. And the kiss they had shared… 

His kiss had been powerful, a sharp contrast to the gentleness with which he had cradled her face. He had teased and taunted her with his tongue and his hands, he had used his fingers to trail a burning path down her sides before coming to rest leisurely at her waist. 

Their kiss had made her dizzy, had made her head spin so fast she struggled to comprehend thoughts other than the sensation of his lips against her own and the hard length of his body crowding her against the wall. 

It had been almost impossible to separate, and she knew had he kissed her again after their goodnight she wouldn’t have been able to leave his side. She would have drawn him into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes. She would have peeled the soft jumper that he wore up until it was lashed somewhere in the corner of her bedroom, only pausing for a moment to mourn the delicious contrast it provided with his golden skin. Aelin was sure a shirtless Rowan would have more than made up for the loss. 

She had admitted to herself a long time ago that she wanted him. _Bad_. 

Now she stood in front of her class, desperately trying to claw her way back to the train of thought she had been on before her mind had been invaded by the thought of Rowan and his broad chest, the planes of toned muscle she knew were beneath his usual flannel shirts. 

Her mouth was dry. 

Gods, she needed to get a grip. She was standing in front of a room full of children. 

“Miss G?” A student asked, and Aelin was dragged brutally back down to earth. 

She cleared her throat and shot a glance to the clock on her classroom wall. “Yes, um, we’ll continue this tomorrow. Take lunch five minutes early, happy Friday.”

This wasn’t like her at all, and her students wore expressions of wary appreciation. She was never going to find her momentum again with the five minutes remaining in the period. “See you all next week.”

With that the class dispersed, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and within seconds her classroom was empty. She shook her head with a slight laugh and turned around to collapse into the chair waiting behind her desk. Aelin fished around in her small handbag to draw out her phone. 

Her phone screen bore a number of notifications, one a text from Lysandra with a link and a number of heart emojis, Aelin would get to that later. The notification that widened her smile was a text from Rowan. 

_Busy?_ was all his message read, and Aelin didn’t hesitate before tapping the call icon at the top of her screen.

“Hello, you.” Aelin could hear the smile in his voice as the call connected. 

“Hello,” She sang, unashamed in the smile that crossed her own face. There was an intimacy in his greeting that she revelled in. “What’s up?”

“You called me.”

She bit her lip at his tone of voice. Rowan Whitethorn a tease? Who knew. 

“I did. I thought your text implied you wanted to talk… I must have been wrong. I guess I’ll go.” 

Aelin leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet up onto her desk, if her phone had a cord she would have been twirling it through her fingers. 

“Alright, see you later.” Rowan’s voice was calm through the speakers of her phone and Aelin immediately dropped her feet back off the table as she scoffed. 

Rowan’s returning laughter was loud, the sound deep and rich that struck something in her stomach. Aelin couldn’t play offended for long as he spoke again. 

“I wanted to check in with you, it’s just me and Aedion in the loft today.”

Aelin knew his meaning immediately and she bit her lip for an entirely new reason. 

“Oh,” She said carefully. She needed a moment to think. 

The proposed ending of their relative secrecy was something she had delayed contemplating so far. 

Aelin had enjoyed the sneaking around she and Rowan had shared. Only a couple of nights ago she had joined Rowan and her other roommates on the sofa in their living room while they watched a football game. Aelin had slipped herself in between Rowan and Aedion casually, and the sharp look Rowan shot her when she had made sure her crossed legs pressed along one of his own had sent a flicker of heat curling through her. 

Rowan had adjusted himself, leaning further back into the cushions and uncurling his arm along the back of the seat behind her. Aelin hadn’t seen her cousin or either of her other roommates bat an eyelid at the movement, so she had allowed herself to lean backwards into the sofa, resting her head in the crook of Rowan’s elbow. 

Rowan had smiled down at her, another one of those smiles that said ‘ _we know something they don’t_ ’ with the corners of his lips twisting in an almost unbearably attractive way, and it had left her attempting to hide her own smile behind a curtain of her hair. 

Aelin thought that maybe she understood Lysandra some more now. 

The secrecy was exciting, and the risk she felt when she trailed a finger along the band of skin between the hem of Rowan’s t-shirt and the waistband of his trousers set loose a cloud of butterflies in her stomach. He had been standing in the kitchen, talking with Aedion, and she hadn’t been able to resist teasing him. She had barely grazed her finger along the slim path of exposed skin but Rowan had tensed, delightfully responsive to her touch, and grabbed her hand below the counter, out of Aedion’s line of sight. 

Aelin didn’t think Aedion had noticed the tension in his friend, or the tightness of his voice as they continued their conversation, but Aelin had. She wanted to do it again, and was desperate to find any excuse she could to touch him. 

She was sure Rowan felt the same, even though it had taken him a little while to relax into the flirty exchanges. Just yesterday morning, as she had been about to leave the loft with Fenrys to journey to the school, Rowan had twisted a lock of her hair around his finger and tugged, ever so slightly. Aelin knew the blush she had worn at the gesture was fierce and she had shot a glance at Fenrys immediately afterwards, but he had seemed blissfully unaware of what had transpired between his roommates. 

“Aelin?” Rowan’s voice broke the silence, and she realised she had been silent for more than a moment, lost again in the visions of Rowan and the sensation of his skin against her own. 

“Yes, um, well.” She paused again to collect her thoughts. She’d have to get to Lysandra before Aedion did, but Rowan clearly felt ready to tell his best friend. Aelin squeezed her eyes tightly shut, thanking the gods there was no one around to see her smile. “Enjoy your day with him.”

“Yeah?” Rowan’s voice was soft as he double checked. 

“Yeah.” She drew her eyes open finally and glanced around her classroom as she braced a hand along the desk in front of her. “Make sure when you talk about me it’s all bad things.”

Rowan laughed. “I’m sure Aedion probably has worse on you than me.”

“Maybe.” She shrugged even though he couldn’t see. “For now at least.”

Rowan’s breath hitched and he only said her name. “Aelin.”

She loved the sound of her name on his lips. She wanted to hear it again and again. 

Movement caught her eye in the doorway to her classroom and Nehemia appeared waving a Tupperware container in the air. Aelin held one finger up in the air and then pointed to where she held her phone to her ear. Nehemia flashed her a thumbs up then disappeared back around the corner. 

“I have to go,” She said, already regretting the words, talking to Rowan was the highlight of her day. “But have a good talk with Aedion. I’ll see you later.”

“Of course,” Rowan sounded just as disappointed as she at the end of their conversation. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.”

Aelin ended the call and quickly gathered her things before joining Nehemia in the corridor. 

“And who was that getting you smiling like that?” Her friend asked with a knowing smirk. 

“Stop,” Aelin laughed as she led the way to the breakroom. 

– 

Aedion sauntered into the kitchen and strolled over to the fridge before taking out a bottle of juice. He nodded to Rowan where he sat at the breakfast bar and Rowan steeled himself. 

Aelin had given her blessing for him to come clean to Aedion, even through the heavy veiling of their conversation, and it was something he had been waiting to talk to his best friend about. He just wasn’t sure how to broach the subject. 

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” wasn’t quite the approach he had intended to take. 

Aedion only turned, a golden eyebrow raised as he continued to swig juice from the bottle. He stood unashamedly shirtless in their kitchen, only a pair of almost threadbare joggers hanging low on his hips protected his modesty. 

After living with him for years, it wasn’t a sight unfamiliar to Rowan. Fenrys was worse, he would often stroll about the loft naked, and Rowan counted himself lucky once Aelin had moved in and Fenrys had been forced to cover up.

“Oh please do tell,” his friend laughed. 

Rowan narrowed his eyes at him, and Aedion’s smirk only grew as he placed the bottle down on the counter between them. 

“You crashed my date at the weekend.”

“Date?” Aedion laughed disbelievingly. “With who?”

“Whom.”

“Fuck you.”

Rowan only cocked his head and waited for the penny to drop. It didn’t take long. 

“Wait.” Aedion dropped himself onto the stool opposite Rowan. “No fucking way.”

Rowan nodded, now playing with a jagged piece of skin around the edge of his nail. 

“To be clear, you do mean Aelin?” Aedion leant forwards to Rowan and braced a hand against the counter.

“Yep,” Rowan said, hardly blinking as he looked towards his friend. 

His friend took another moment, before bursting into a loud explosion of laughter. Rowan waited for it to pass. 

“You and Aelin? On a date?” 

“Yes,” Rowan bristled. This wasn’t the reaction he had anticipated either. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Ro, man. It’s not hard to believe.” Aedion shook his head. “What’s hard to believe is that you seem to be pretending this is new.”

“What?” 

This _was_ new. Everything with Aelin felt so new and exciting. The thought of her made his heart race, made his head spin. 

“What do you mean what? Now I’m confused,” Aedion said, playing with the cap of his bottle. “ _Is_ this new?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m telling you about it now.” Rowan had thought that much was clear. 

“Oh, shit, man.” Aedion laughed again, now rolling the bottle cap between his fingers. “Sorry for crashing your date then.”

Rowan shrugged again, it was done now, and he had big plans for their next weekend together. 

Aedion spoke again, seemingly brimming full of questions. “Is this serious? Are you going on another date?”

“Yes to the second question, maybe to the first.”

“Why maybe? Tell me you’re not messing with her, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid.”

A sliver of steel had crept into Aedion’s voice at the thought. 

“No, no of course not.” Rowan spoke quickly, flustered at the idea that he in any way wanted to play with Aelin. Well, unless she wanted to play the way she had been recently. Driving him crazy taking any opportunity to put her hands on him. 

She seemed to like doing while they weren’t alone, and it sent a thrill through him every time. The knowledge that Aelin’s hands were on him just out of sight of his roommates was exhilarating, the feeling of her pressed against him was invigorating. 

“Good,” Aedion said, placing the bottle cap flat on the top of the counter. He took a moment to consider his next words before smiling at Rowan with a predatory grin. “You need help to plan then?”

“Plan what?” Rowan asked, returning the smile gently but still somewhat confused. 

“Your date with Aelin.”

“You’re alright with this then?” He knew whichever way Aedion’s answer went he wouldn’t change his mind, it would just be nice to hear his friend’s support. 

Aedion laughed again. “You know as well as I do that we have no say in whatever Aelin does.”

Rowan nodded along and Aedion continued. 

“If she wants to date you, she will. I’m happy for you, I think you’ll be good for each other, hopefully she can whip you into shape.” 

Rowan flashed him the middle finger, but Aedion still wasn’t done. 

“I’ll just have to pretend I don’t know what will be happening on that side of the loft,” He winced. “Or what’s already happened.”

Rowan shook his head slightly and Aedion smirked. 

“Just treat her right, or I’ll have to kick your ass. I won’t want to, even though you barely work out you could probably beat me, but I’ll be looking out for her.”

“Right.” Rowan wiped his damp palms along his trousers under the counter. 

“And I love you man, but if she hurts you you’re on your own. She could definitely kick my ass.” 

Aedion laughed and Rowan couldn’t help the bark of laughter that escaped him too. 

“Thanks,” Rowan said sarcastically. “And I think I’m alright, I already know what I’m going to do.”

– 

“This feels like a kidnapping.”

Rowan laughed where he stood holding the car door open for her. He had asked her to meet him in the parking garage under their apartment building where his car was waiting. He seemed to have managed to persuade Aedion to share the one spot allocated to the loft for one day. 

“It’s not a kidnapping,” He told her, his eyes bright in the dim lighting of the garage. 

Aelin pretended to look around, her eyes widened dramatically. 

“I don’t know,” She paused as she rested a hand along the top of the car door. She was going to get in, she just wanted to tease him first. “Dark parking garage, no one else around, taking me to an unknown location…”

“Okay,” Rowan said, his tone filled with amusement. “It’s a kidnapping, and I had really thought you wanted to go on a date with me.”

Aelin knew he was joking from the smirk he wore, but she still rushed to reassure him. She did want to go on a date with him, she had been waiting for this moment for almost two weeks, but each time she was with Rowan it was too much fun to flirt with him to pass up an opportunity. 

“I do, I do! But you have to admit this is kidnap-y.” She said as she almost threw herself into the passenger seat of his car and she heard his laugh as he pushed the door shut and crossed the car to slide in next to her. 

“Ready to go?” He asked her as he buckled his seat belt. 

His expression was so light and so happy that she couldn’t respond for a moment. Even in the short time she had known Rowan she had noticed the change in him. His smiles came more easily, as did his laughter, and Aelin never wanted them to stop. 

“Ready,” She said finally and her voice came out past a catch in her throat. 

Rowan only smiled again as he turned to start the car. 

– 

They drove for longer than Aelin had expected. She had thought he was taking her for another meal somewhere in the city but they had long since left the busy streets of the city behind. They drove through quieter roads now, lined with towering verges, filled with masses of wildflowers. There were blends of pinks and purples and greens and she watched out the window, entranced, at the sights that flew by.

She made sure to sneak regular glances over at Rowan who drove with one hand on the wheel and the other braced along the open window. The sleeves of the shirt he wore were pushed up to his elbows, allowing her eyes access to trace the paths of ink up his skin. Before him, Aelin had never considered herself particularly keen on tattoos, they were fine, just not for her, but the lines of elegant black ink worked well on Rowan, even more so now that she knew the meaning behind them. 

The breeze swirling in through the open window tickled his silver hair, sending it flopping down across his forehead and swooping back up off his face. He looked completely at ease in the gentle sunlight, his smile wide and easy, with his golden skin glowing in the clean light. 

They were far closer to the coast now and Aelin could smell the brine in the air, she could hear the calls of the gulls that swept in along the cliffs of the beaches. The coast always filled her with a childlike glee, and the smells and sounds transported her back to the trips she made with her parents as a child, the years of visits they paid Aedion and her other cousins in Wendlyn. 

He finally pulled up in a small space allocated for parking at the side of one of the roads overlooking the beach. Aelin could see miles of shining sand and sparkling sea and she could make out small groups of people enjoying the last of the summer sunshine. 

There were couples strolling down the sand, holding hands between themselves, and there were groups of children staring down into the small pools of water that were trapped in the rocks at the base of the cliffs. 

It was stunning, and she knew the smile she wore as she took it all in was blinding. 

“The beach?” She asked through her smile. 

“Is that okay?” Rowan asked with a hint of nervousness in his tone. He broke their eye contact to step out of the car and Aelin followed.

“Rowan, it’s perfect. It’s gorgeous.”

Aelin wasn’t lying. She had been looking forward to their dinner last week, but this trip was incredible. It tugged in her chest that he had thought to bring her here. 

Rowan smiled again, almost bashfully, as he met her at the front of the car. He held a hand out to her and she revelled in the feeling of linking her fingers between each of his. 

“We’ll get to the beach later, there’s one place I want to take you first.” 

Aelin squeezed his fingers between her own as he began to lead her down the street. Every time she formed an expectation of Rowan he smashed right through it. 

It didn’t take them long to reach his next surprise. The journey had only taken a couple of minutes of wandering slowly down the seaside path and each moment had been a delightful release of a breath. The feeling of the sunlight on her skin and the sea breeze through her hair didn’t compare to the feeling of Rowan’s hand in her own or his presence at her side. 

He led her away from the beach and into a small, rustic looking, town with small buildings that each looked over a hundred years old. They had an aged charm to them with white walls and wooden beams decorating their fronts and the cobbles of the street they walked down were enchanting in the way they were worn down after years of people travelling the same path Aelin took now. 

At the end of the street the space opened out into a large square filled with stalls and tents, the streets were busy but not overcrowded and there was an air of chatter filling the space. 

“Rowan, what is this?” She asked. 

“I found this place when I first moved to Adarlan. They have a market here every month where the people in the town come to sell their goods. There’s all kinds; food, drinks, trinkets. There’s usually a man who sells really great pan-fried trout. I get a piece every time I come.”

“Rowan,” She breathed as she came to a stop and turned to face him. “This is amazing.”

Aelin was almost overwhelmed, and flattered, that he had planned to bring her here and share this with her. 

“I know, now come on. You have to try this guy’s fish.”

Aelin winced. The market was incredible, a spectacle of wholesomeness and she couldn’t wait to explore, but she was sceptical of the fish. 

“Trust me,” Rowan said with a smile as he tugged her into the heart of the market. 

Aelin gaped in awe at each of the rows of stalls, Rowan hadn’t been wrong. There was something for everyone to be found within the maze of stalls. They had passed a stall with hand knitted scarves and she knew her mom would love one for Christmas. There was a stall, manned by a young woman, selling bottles of freshly made lemonade that she made with the lemons grown in her garden. 

Aelin had spent a long while speaking with the girl, jealous of the space the young woman described that bore endless varieties of the fruit. Aelin bought herself and Rowan a bottle of the sweet drink and the taste had matched perfectly with their stroll through the seaside town. 

Rowan took her to the stall with the man selling the trout, he was an older man who was openly friendly with everyone, and he had even clapped Rowan on the shoulder when they approached. Aelin had been reluctant to try the fish but she had discovered that it was delicious, and she had finished off her own portion in minutes before stealing bites of Rowan’s own. 

Aelin was full on freshly made food and drink and the time spent with Rowan as they strolled through the grids of stalls. She was relaxed and satiated and looking forward to the romantic walk along the beach Rowan had promised her once they were finished at the market. 

They were heading towards the exit when Aelin spotted a stall she knew she would have been devastated to miss. An older lady sat perched on a rickety wooden stool, smiling at each person who passed. Aelin offered her own smile as they passed, but it was the lady’s wares that had caught her eye. 

There were rows and rows of delicate little chocolates, some covered in dustings of pink, dried raspberries, some covered in the green dustings of pistachios, some white, some dark. Aelin’s mouth almost watered at the sight. 

She tugged Rowan over to the stall and he followed easily, smiling a knowing smile as he took in where she was leading him. 

“Do you have anything chocolate and hazelnut?” She asked the woman hopefully. 

The woman smiled, the lines at the corners of her eyes deepening as she took Aelin and her question in. “Of course, I have some chocolate hazelnut truffles.”

“Perfect, please may I take ten.”

“Of course.”

Aelin felt Rowan watching her as she waited for her treats to be bagged up. 

“Ten?” He asked. 

“Ten is a very reasonable number of chocolates,” She told him. “Especially for two people.”

“Aelin,” He chuckled. “That’s very kind but I’m alright. I don’t want to eat your chocolates.” 

Aelin whirled to him, outraged. 

“Of course you do! Who doesn’t eat chocolates?” 

She caught the stall owner smiling at their exchange. 

“Me, Aelin. They’re far too sweet.”

Aelin shook her head as she turned back to the stall owner who held out the bag of sweet treats. Aelin handed over the money with a smile and a grateful thank you. 

“I put an extra one in there for you, he reminds me of my husband back in the day,” The woman told her. “He would pretend until his last breath that he didn’t want my chocolates, but I could always taste them in his kisses.”

Aelin smiled and glanced back to Rowan, who wore a slight pink tint on his cheeks at the woman’s words. 

“Thank you,” She said again. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

The woman laughed and bid them farewell as they turned to head down onto the beach, chocolate truffles in hand. 

As they walked, barefoot along the sand, Rowan graciously carrying both of their shoes, Aelin popped a couple into her mouth, unable to hold in her moan at the taste. Rowan’s gaze had snapped to her face at the sound, his stare heavy and intense in a way that she craved, but he made no move to kiss her. 

She held out a truffle to him but he shook his head. “Come on, Rowan. I know you want one.”

“I really don’t,” He shook his head. “Save them for yourself.”

Aelin parked her feet deeply in the soft sand and turned to face him. She held the sweet treat up to his lips with her lips pursed in expectation. 

“Aelin,” was all he said, but she just waited. 

Finally he opened his mouth and she placed the sweet treat between his lips. He chewed in silence before smiling down at her again. She had never seen him smile so much, and with the backdrop of the setting sun and the soundtrack of the crashing waves she couldn’t help herself from leaning up to press her lips to his. 

His lips were warm and pliant as she kissed him, and his hands came up quickly to wrap around her waist. She held tightly to the bag of sweets in her left hand as she brought her right up to cradle his face to her own. 

Their kiss deepened as Rowan’s tongue darted gently into her mouth, leaving her toes curling into the sand as she sank into him. The lady was right, he tasted of chocolate and hazelnut and she smiled through their kiss. 

She pulled back to gaze up at him, losing herself in the deep green of his eyes and the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around her. 

“Thank you, for today,” She whispered. 

Rowan only pressed his lips back to her own.

– 

Rowan had never imagined that his and Aelin’s first date could have gone so well. He had hoped that Aelin would enjoy herself, he had known that the market was delightful and that Aelin would have loved the sights of the ancient town and the seaside views, but somehow the reality had exceeded his expectations. 

He hoped, so deeply, that Aelin had enjoyed herself and his heart had lifted at the kiss she shared with him as they stood on the beach. It was a picture perfect moment he wanted to savour, but he couldn’t fight the desire to check in. 

“So, you’ve enjoyed today then?” He asked with his arm around his shoulder as they made their way back to the car. He balanced his trainers with her sandals in his spare hand as the other was linked with Aelin’s where it lay across her shoulders. 

She glanced up at him sharply, concern covering her face. 

“Rowan, are you serious?” She asked. “ I have loved today, it was _perfect_.”

Her words warmed him like the final rays of sunlight of the day. 

He dropped his arm from her shoulders as they reached the car, but kept their fingers linked as she leaned back against the passenger side door. 

“I just wanted to make sure.” 

He felt satisfied and overjoyed at their day, but he still struggled to believe that Aelin could feel the same. The smile she gave him did well to wash away those thoughts. 

“Rowan,” Her voice was soft as she took him in, seeming to read more on his face than his words gave away. “Rowan, I’m all in.”

“You’re all in.” He repeated softly and Aelin only smiled. A sight so beautiful it caught his breath in his chest.

“All in.” She confirmed and took a step towards him, bringing her free hand up to rest against his chest. She smiled up to him, her mouth set and her gaze unwavering. 

Rowan lifted his hands to rest against her waist, her soft skin and warm curves fitting his hands perfectly, as he smiled widely at her, unable to control the curve his lips adopted. 

“I’m all in too,” He told her as he leaned down to press his lips to hers. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the rating of this fic because this chapter contains some sexual content.

The parking garage was quiet and dark as Rowan cut the engine and turned to her. 

The drive home had been a scene straight out of a movie. The windows had been rolled down and the last embers of the summer air had teased her hair as Rowan had driven away from the fading sunset. He had braced one hand on the steering wheel and the other held her own, resting against her thigh with their fingers interlocked. 

Aelin had snapped a photo of him on her phone, his side profile lit up in the fading sunlight, and then tucked it away, knowing she would make it her wallpaper later.

“That was the best kidnapping I’ve ever had,” She told him with a smirk. 

Rowan only shook his head, but Aelin caught the smile threatening to break through his bitten lip. He looked glorious, his skin slightly pink from a day in the sun and his hair mussed from the wind. 

Aelin liked something about the relaxed disarray he wore, it was warm and comfortable, but she couldn’t help noticing the way his rumpled collar exposed the length of his throat, the edge of his collarbone and the beginnings of his tattoo. The sharpness of the black ink against his bronzed skin was enticing and she reached out a finger to lightly trace one of the first lines of script. 

Her fingers traced the curls of the letters, dipping beneath the collar of his shirt and onto his chest. His skin was warm and soft as she explored and his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm as she followed the words on his skin. 

“Aelin,” His voice broke the silence, her name almost a plea.

“Sorry,” She said with a mischievous smile, drawing her hand back, but Rowan caught it in his own and pressed a kiss to her fingers. 

“Don’t be.” 

His smile was pure contentment and one Aelin returned easily. Without a second thought Aelin unbuckled her seatbelt and leant across the car to press a kiss to his lips. 

He kissed her back immediately, reaching a hand up to cup her cheek and then sliding further to stroke the space behind her ear with his thumb. Aelin leaned into the touch, gently easing back from the kiss to smile up at him. 

“Thank you.”

The words weren’t enough for the day he had given her.

She pressed a kiss to his lips again, harder this time as his hand slid deeper into her hair. She tilted her head to the side, sinking into the kiss as Rowan took control, parting her lips with his own. 

He still tasted of the chocolate and hazelnut treats they had shared back at the beach and she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, tugging him closer. Rowan mirrored her action, bringing his hand up to rest against her lower back, the pressure of his hand easing her over to him. 

Rowan broke the kiss and Aelin moaned her displeasure until he trailed his mouth down her jawline, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses down the length of her neck. 

She groaned at the sensation, the scrape of his teeth against her skin had heat pooling in her core and she tugged his face to hers again, kissing him harder, hotter, faster. Aelin shifted her weight until she was leaning up on the seat and cradling his face up to her own as they kissed. 

She could hear her breathing coming in fast breathless pants, desperate to be closer to him with every sweep of his tongue. 

Rowan’s hand on her lower back slid downwards to slip into the back pocket of her jeans and Aelin gasped at the feeling of his hand spanned across her backside, the warmth of his palm burning through the fabric. 

Aelin sank further into him still, throwing her leg across the centre console of his car until she was perched in his lap. She didn’t care who could walk past and see them-it didn’t matter. She was lost in him and threw herself further into his kiss wanting to be even more so. Rowan’s hand, that had until now been twisted through her hair, trailed a burning path down her body to join his other, flexing his fingers against her in a way that had her rocking her hips down into his own. 

A groan crossed his lips at the motion and his head fell back to rest against the seat. Aelin kissed a path down his neck until she reached the collar of his shirt, still rocking her hips down into his. His hands slipped upwards to rest on her hips, pushing her down to meet him with every roll of her hips and the tips of his fingers slid up above the waistband of her jeans. 

The sensation of his fingers against her skin sparked a frenzy and she began to fumble with the buttons of his shirt. She wanted his chest bare against her own. His hands crept up her sides until they teased the underside of her bra and she wanted more. 

Her pace increased as she wrestled with his buttons and she smirked in triumph as she got one undone. She pulled open the top of his shirt to reveal planes of divine golden skin as her elbow hit something hard. 

The car horn jolted her out of her haze of arousal and it stilled Rowan’s hands under her shirt. 

His green eyes blinked open slowly at the interruption as he caught his breath, his chest heaving beneath her fingers. A hazy smile began to tug at the corners of his lips and Aelin ducked her head to his chest, pressing her cheek to the skin to hide her own smile. 

“Oops,” She said innocently. 

It was all Rowan needed before he erupted into laughter. 

It was a sound she didn’t often hear from him, his displays of delight were usually muted smiles and small chuckles with a handful of smug smirks, but his laughter was a wonderful sound. 

Aelin allowed herself to laugh along too, partly at the interruption and also at the image of themselves, making out in his car like a pair of horny teenagers. She remained sprawled across his lap and despite his laughter she could still feel him hard beneath her. She slipped her hands into his shirt and back across his shoulders, allowing herself to feel the planes of his chest as she snuggled deeper into him.

After a moment she felt his laughter diminish as he stilled beneath her and his hands dropped from her chest to rest at her hips. 

“We should head up to the loft,” He said, his voice thick and raspy. 

Aelin lifted her head to kiss him again at the sound, but he saw the gesture coming and ducked to press a kiss to the base of her throat. 

“Come on.” His hands squeezed her hips as he spoke and Aelin was pliant in his arms. 

“Okay,” She murmured, but made no attempt to move from her position atop him. 

“I don’t want to push you off,” Rowan began. 

“So don’t.” Aelin lifted her head to meet his eyes, a challenge dancing across her face. 

Rowan’s head dropped back again to lie against the headrest as he groaned. “Aelin, you’re going to be the death of me.”

He shifted himself beneath her and Aelin leaned into the motion. She wanted to tease him, wanted to work him up the way he stirred something red hot within her. Aelin wanted his heart to pound in his chest at the sight of her the way hers did when she spotted him. 

Rowan squeezed his eyes shut, his head still tilted back in a silent prayer. 

“Aelin. The loft,” He said, unable to string any longer of a sentence together. 

Aelin leaned forwards until her breath was a whisper across his lips. 

“Fine,” She said softly. “Come and get me then.”

\-- 

Aelin had all but thrown herself out of the car and sprinted her way across the space to reach the lift leading to the loft. Rowan had chased her, hot on her heels with his hands outstretched reaching for her waist as they ran, but Aelin had managed to twirl away, giggling, and beat him to the doors. 

Once inside he had swiftly jammed the button for their floor and crowded her against the wall, kissing her until she was panting and her back was arching away from the wall as she clung to him. 

She had half a thought to hope none of their neighbours would stumble upon them, or worse any of their roommates, but the thought was quickly swept away as Rowan slid his mouth down the length of her throat. She stamped down the other half of her brain that thought she might quite like being discovered in a position like this with Rowan. 

The image set her blood on fire again.

Aelin managed to keep her hands to herself as Rowan unlocked the door to the loft. She knew if any of their roommates spotted them the game was up, her hair felt like a birds nest and her lips were tingling from the pressure of Rowan’s, and she made an attempt to appear dignified, smoothing a shaky hand over her hair. Rowan’s shirt, only half buttoned, was a lost cause.

The fear of discovery, and the sly smiles she spotted on Rowan’s face, were reminiscent of the years she would sneak back into her parent’s house after spending nights in the park playing spin the bottle with Lysandra and some of the other kids from their school. 

There were differences of course. Rowan couldn’t be compared to those teenage boys she used to spend her time with and she knew this night would have a completely different ending to the unsatisfying and unsure kisses of her past. 

“It could be pretty useful,” She said with a glance to Rowan as they made their way quickly across the loft. “Our rooms being on this side of the loft.” 

“Oh, yeah?” 

“Yeah.” Aelin smiled as they came to a stop outside their bedroom doors. She reached up to loop her arms around his neck and Rowan’s hands came up to rest comfortably at her waist. “The rest of the loft don’t come down here. It’s only me and you.”

Rowan’s fingers flexed at her waist and he tilted his head to the side, taking in not only her words, but the presumptuous smirk she wore. “And that’s what we need? Privacy?”

Aelin licked her bottom lip as she considered him. “Definitely. We’re all in, right?”

Rowan leaned down to brush his lips against her own and Aelin smiled into the kiss. “All in,” He told her, his lips moving against her own. 

The touch was brief, soft and delicate, as Rowan smiled against her mouth. This was what she had been waiting for, all these months since moving into the loft. 

She hadn’t ever entertained the possibility of something like this resulting from her moving into the spare room in her cousin’s apartment, she had been too caught up in the loss of Arobynn and her job and the utter desolation she felt to even consider the three relative strangers that occupied the other rooms in the loft. 

The day she had wandered up to the loft and been met at the door by Rowan felt like a million years ago now, and she and Rowan had become something unexpected, but something brilliant. When she first moved in Rowan had still been worried about seeing Lyria. Gods, she couldn’t help her laugh at the thought. 

He paused his kiss against her lips and moved to nuzzle her neck. 

“Where’s your head at?” He asked, so carefully trying to muster a calm into his voice. Aelin smiled again. 

“My head is wondering whether we should go to your place or mine.”

She could feel Rowan’s smirk against her neck. “Mine’s closer.” He nipped the skin of her throat with his teeth and pulled her back into his bedroom before slamming the door tightly shut behind them. 

Rowan didn’t waste time before slanting his lips over her own. Aelin kissed him back enthusiastically, twisting her hands through the soft strands of his silver hair as she backed up until her knees hit the edge of his bed. 

Her fingers were hurried but steady as she fought the buttons of Rowan’s shirt for a second time. This time she was victorious, and Aelin yanked the material off his shoulders revealing a broad expanse of toned chest. 

Aelin broke the kiss to glance down at the newly revealed skin. She was helplessly into his tattoo. It stretched across the toned planes of his upper chest and down one of his sculpted biceps. The muscles tensed as she placed a flat palm against the upper left of his chest, covering the swirls of dark ink. 

Rowan’s hand came up to cover her own, before lifting it and pressing a kiss to the back of her knuckles. “Your turn.” He grinned at her as he dropped her hand to peel her shirt off. 

His gaze grew heavier as he took in the newly revealed skin and his hands skimmed her sides, sparking shivers across her skin. 

Aelin lifted her hands to unclasp her bra but Rowan’s voice halted her. 

“Let me,” He said with a bite to her bottom lip. 

Aelin surrendered herself and allowed her eyes to flutter shut and Rowan released the clasp and dragged the straps down her arms, his motion torturously slow as he trailed his fingers over her skin before throwing the bra across the room. 

Aelin’s eyes snapped open as he cupped a breast in his palm, his thumb flicking over a nipple. 

“You’re beautiful.” Rowan’s voice was hoarse. His eyes roving over her skin as his teeth worked his bottom lip. 

She preened at his words, her head ducking to the side to fight her blush.

“I know,” Aelin said with a grin as she dropped her hands to his belt. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

She caught the huff of Rowan’s laugh before he kissed her again, his tongue delving deep and twisting something deep inside her. 

Her skin was both pebbled by his touch and burning red as he continued his motions against her breast, squeezing the flesh and pinching her nipple between his finger and thumb. She pushed her chest up into his touch and his touch grew firmer and more demanding, flicking his fingers against her peaked flesh and sending heat directly into her core as he reached a hand down to grab her ass. 

Aelin moaned. His fingers were godly and she needed more. She dropped out of his touch and onto his bed, relishing in the soft cotton against her back but missing Rowan’s hands on her body already. 

Rowan watched her every movement with a focus akin to a hawk. His eyes catalogued every inch of her skin, darting up to her face and down her chest and lower where her hands paused at the button of her jeans.

“You want to do these honours too?” She asked with a raised brow. 

“With pleasure.” 

His voice was low and curled another flicker of heat deep within her. 

He kicked off his own jeans before peeling hers carefully down her legs. He held her ankle delicately before pressing a soft kiss to the bone. Aelin lifted her hands above her head and lay back to watch, biting her lip to suppress her smile. 

Rowan peppered kisses down the length of her leg, incorporating the occasional scrape of his teeth across her skin.

Aelin hadn’t known it possible to burn this hot, her skin was flushed and her mouth lay open, gasping any breaths she could as Rowan smirked up at her from between her legs, the leg he had kissed thrown over his shoulder.

Her breathing was too loud and she was struggling to keep her hips against his bed. Rowan lifted a hand, just as he came to hover just over the apex of her thighs, and pinned her hips to the bed and oh, gods-

He kept eye contact with her as he slowly pressed one sweet kiss to her center, watching her, and making sure she was watching him, before tugging her underwear down over her hips. Aelin took a deep breath, fighting to keep her eyes open against the anticipation of what she knew was to come. 

She arched off the bed at the first touch of his tongue. He devoured her without hesitation, tasting her with fast strokes that brought her close to a haze of euphoria before pulling back to press hot and wet kisses to her hips when she came close to her release. Aelin gripped her fingers through his hair to pull him back to where she needed him most and he hummed a laugh against her at her enthusiasm. The vibration through her core set her skin aflame.

Aelin knew a half conscious stream of babbling curses were falling out of her mouth but she didn’t care. 

“Please,” She whimpered and her toes curled as she felt him smirk against her. “Please, Rowan.”

He pulled back as far as her hands would allow to glance up at her. “If I knew this was all I had to do to get some manners out of you I would have done it a long time ago.”

Aelin groaned but the sound morphed into a gasp as he brought his mouth back down to her and lifted a hand to join. The feeling of his tongue against her and his fingers inside her lifted her up to her peak, working her higher and higher, until finally release barrelled through her with a cry of his name. “ _ Rowan _ .”

She squeezed her eyes shut and her legs together, trapping him between her thighs as she came. 

It took her a moment to land back down on earth, and as her eyes fluttered open she saw Rowan grinning darkly up at her. 

“Come here,” She whispered as she released her grip around him and tugged his mouth back up to hers. 

The taste of herself on his tongue was enough to reignite the fire in her veins and as Rowan settled into the space between her legs, lining himself up to grind into her, she tipped her head back in a gasp. 

His hand dropped back down to play with her again gently and she moaned as she pushed at his boxers with a hand. She couldn’t form sentences, could only produce gasped moans and wild gestures. 

Rowan pulled back for a second to sling his boxers into the corner of the room and Aelin allowed herself to take in the magnificence of his body. Endless stretches of toned muscle covered in golden skin and a splattering of pale silver hair. Her mouth went dry at the sight. 

Aelin raised herself up on her elbows as she took him in. 

“Rowan.” Was all she whispered. 

It took Rowan only a second to settle over her again and slot his lips to hers. The kiss was filthy, all scraping of teeth against lips and battles of tongues. Aelin was desperate for him. 

She reached a hand in between their bodies, marvelling in the inches of soft skin, before wrapping a hand around the length of him. Rowan broke the kiss with a choked moan. 

“Aelin.” His hips stuttered into her hand as she crossed her thumb over the tip. 

Aelin relished in the sharp gasps and low moans he made into her neck as she worked her hand and she knew the smile she pressed into the side of his neck was wicked. She was proud of herself for drawing such noises out of him. 

Before long his hips increased their pace and he pulled back to kiss her hard. 

“Condom?” She asked between breathy kisses. 

“In the drawer.”

Rowan stretched his arm past her head to retrieve the small foil package. Aelin took it from him as her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip. Rowan pressed his face into her neck as she rolled it on and she pumped her hand a couple of times, relishing in the stutter of his hips against her, before pulling back to kiss him again. 

Their kiss slowed as she took her time to taste him, slowly rolling her tongue and hips against him and losing herself to the moment. This was  _ Rowan _ , and the feeling of their bodies against each other was exquisite, but she loved the tenderness between them more. 

He towered over her usually but as they lay tangled on his bed they were eye to eye. Every glance between them was passionate and intense but reassuring. She felt safe under him, and that meant more than she could express with words. She lifted a hand to his face and pressed a soft lingering kiss to his lips. 

“I’m all in.” 

They hadn’t explicitly stated the terms of whatever it was between them, but she knew he read the wealth her words held. 

“All in,” He said with a nod before pressing into her slowly. 

He rolled his hips slowly as she adjusted, whispering promises of adoration against her skin as she gasped.  _ Gorgeous, perfect, so good _ . Soon his pace sped up and Aelin blinked her eyes open as he wrapped an arm around her waist, adjusting the angle as he thrusted into her. 

Aelin dug her fingernails into his shoulders, needing something to ground her in the sensations rushing over her skin and flooding inside her. She was lost in Rowan, he was lost in her, and it was more than perfect. 

She met his mouth in a messy kiss as his pace increased. She barely heard her mewling cries and Rowan’s laboured breaths over the pounding in her ears. 

“Rowan,” She moaned his name unashamedly as the wave within her built to a peak. 

“Aelin.” He sunk his teeth into the flesh of her neck as he came and the sensation sent sparks through her body as the wave crashed around her. 

It took her a moment to reel herself and climb back down from her high. She knew her heart was racing and her breaths were hurried but she barely registered it, lost to the euphoria.

The soft kisses Rowan peppered across her skin as she came down were delightful and she knew without opening her eyes that he was smiling. She was too. 

Something between them had settled and she stroked the back of his head as he pulled out of her. Her eyes fluttered open as he pressed a final kiss to her lips. Aelin kissed him back gently but the kiss was broken by her smile. 

“I agree.” She smiled at his confusion. 

“With what?” He asked, rolling onto his back and pulling her with him until she was lounging across his chest. 

“We should have done that a long time ago.” 

He kissed the smug smirk off her face. 

\-- 

Aelin’s bed remained unused for the rest of the week. 

Rowan had enjoyed taking his time to thoroughly get to know Aelin’s body. He loved coaxing each and every single noise he could from her throat, and rejoiced each time a new one was discovered. 

One in particular he had enjoyed was a soft cry when he had flicked his tongue just so against her as his fingers pressed inside her-he hadn’t been able to banish that sound from his head for a few days. It had haunted him in the shower when Aelin was at work for almost as long.

He had barely been able to walk around without a smile in the days since their date, and Lorcan and Fenrys had both repeatedly been shooting him confused and questioning expressions. He didn’t bother explaining, it would probably result in some level of easy mockery and they’d no doubt find out soon enough.

The level of secrecy within the loft was low, he still didn’t know how Aedion and Lysandra had kept their secret from Aelin for so long, and he doubted himself and Aelin would stay secret for long. Especially when Rowan himself had confessed to Aedion and Fenrys had made any number of comments betraying his insight to the situation. 

There was also the fact that Aelin’s room had been obviously empty for days. Someone would cotton on soon, but until then, Rowan was enjoying himself. And the peace he and Aelin had eased into. 

He had left her with a kiss when he headed to his shift, he didn’t know how he had managed to pull himself away, but here he was. Pulling cool pints for strangers while Aelin remained at the loft. Likely in the oversized t-shirt he had left her in. 

Gods, the image of her in his clothes sent a jolt through him. The gold of her hair against the green of the cotton, the hem barely covering her underwear that it had taken all of his self control not to peel off. 

Out of the corner he saw Malakai throwing him a weird look. He subtly adjusted his trousers and turned to the older male. 

“You alright?” He asked. 

“Yes,” Rowan said plainly, hoping the other man wouldn’t ask him to expand. Rowan doubted he would be interested in Rowan’s inner monologue about Aelin and the image of the miles of exposed skin he had been left with; Malakai’s husband, Emrys, couldn’t look any less like Aelin if he tried. 

Malakai only tilted his head, the sprinkles of grey through his dark hair shining in the fluorescent lights of the bar. He slung the rag in his hand over his shoulder and crossed his arms as he turned to face Rowan fully. 

“Have you thought anymore about what we discussed?”

Gods, not this again. 

“No, not yet. I will get back to you.”

He’d give his whole shift's worth of tips to have a customer turn up and bring this conversation to an end. 

Malakai nodded slowly. “Alright, I need an answer soon though.”

“I know,” Rowan said, still glancing around the bar. 

“I think you should consider it,” Malakai began, bringing up the argument Rowan had heard before. 

“I will.”

Rowan had never been so glad for the sight of his dark haired roommate as Lorcan plopped himself down at the bar in front of Rowan. He’d also probably never jumped to get his friend a beer so quickly. 

“What was that about?” Lorcan asked as Malakai wandered over to the other end of the bar without another word. 

“Nothing,” Rowan dismissed the thought and Lorcan narrowed his eyes before ultimately deciding it wasn’t worth it. 

“I need to ask you something.”

Rowan barely held back a wince. “What?”

“I need help to plan a date.”

Rowan thought his eyebrows could very well have hit his hairline. 

“With the captain?”

Lorcan nodded and Rowan tucked that piece of information away for later. 

“And you came to me?” The scepticism was clear in his voice. 

“I can go somewhere else and leave you to whatever conversation I interrupted,” Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Or you can tell me what you did with Galathynius.” 

Rowan couldn’t help the smug smirk at Lorcan’s words. It seemed the secret was already spreading.

His friend swung a punch to his bicep, slightly too hard to be completely a joke. “The date you bastard. I know perfectly well how to do the rest.”


	18. Chapter 18

Aelin had lost interest in the bowl of cereal sitting on the counter in front of her a long while ago. She twirled the silver spoon between her fingers, barely registering the clink of it against the edges of the bowl as her mind slumbered through the chatter between her two roommates. 

Aedion had been in the kitchen when she arrived, and Rowan had followed behind her a minute later. Aelin thought it was discrete enough that their timings could have easily been passed off as coincidence, as she had been hoping for the past week.

Concentration on anything other than him had proven to be an impossible task when Rowan had slid onto the stool at her side, the scent of fresh pine that clung to him wrapping around her and stealing her focus as he murmured a greeting to herself and Aedion who stood across from her groaning at their sink. 

She hadn’t been paying attention to Aedion’s muttered complaints, lost in her thoughts of the morning she had spent in bed with Rowan, wrapped up in the hands that now rested on her upper thigh. The heady weight of his hand against her drew flashes of heat along her skin and she dropped any pretence of eating breakfast, the spoon chiming against the bowl as she dropped it.

Her attention was drawn to the scrape of his calloused thumb across the soft skin of the top of her thigh before her eyes pulled back up to Rowan’s. 

He offered her a small, sly smirk before dropping his gaze to the low neckline of her nightgown and back up again. A quirk of his lips that told her his mind was right alongside her own, lost in the thoughts of their slow and easy start to the morning. 

Rowan had woken her with soft kisses to the back of her neck-the same way he had woken her for the past few mornings-and she had buried her face into his pillow, revelling in the sensation of his lips against her neck and his hands around her waist. 

She hadn’t spent the night in her own bedroom for a while, it had been their unspoken agreement to share a bed in the nights following their long-awaited first date and Aelin had no regrets.

Rowan’s bedroom was exactly like him. The dark green sheets and dusky grey wallpaper were offset by splashes of light from rustic brass lamps in the corners of the room, dotted about were stacks of books and trinkets she liked to toss between her fingers as she demanded the backstory for each of them. He didn’t often pull back his blinds, a feature Aelin had never had a taste for until now, but it gave his room a dark and intoxicating feel. It was easy to get lost in the dark space, just the two of them, skin to skin.

His kisses had warmed as she had woken, upping their intensity until he was trailing his tongue up the line of her throat and she was writhing back against him. 

Rowan knew how to work her. 

He knew the scrape of his teeth underneath her ear would elicit a cry, he knew a tug of her hair would draw out a gasp, so quickly he had learned that pressing his fingers just  _ so _ would leave her trembling. 

Aelin forced her attention back to the bowl in front of herself, dragging her gaze away from Rowan as she grasped the spoon again to lift a mouthful to her lips with a mostly steady hand. 

“Do you know where this goes?” Her cousin’s voice now sounded from below the counter, as a tanned hand held a length of pipe above the bench. 

“No.” Rowan’s voice was low, sounding bored as his thumb kept up the teasing strokes. “Don’t mess about with it, you’ll make it worse. Call the landlord.”

Aedion sighed as he stood up from below the sink, shooting Rowan an exasperated look. “The landlord is an asshole, last time he came around he couldn’t hold a conversation with me, he was too busy staring at Lysandra’s chest.” 

Rowan grunted his disgust and a line of tension ran through his shoulders at the thought. Aelin knew he wouldn’t be likely to call the landlord about an issue any time soon. 

“He is an asshole,” Aelin chimed in, ignoring the swipe of Rowan’s hand that left his fingertips resting gently in the space between her thighs. “Can we call someone else? Do we even need to? How hard can it be to fix a pipe?”

Aedion levelled her with a flat look. “Hard.”

At the word Rowan’s hand pressed more firmly against her and Aelin couldn’t help the jolt of her hips, pressing forward into Rowan’s hand, craving the friction, anything to release the pressure building within her. 

Rowan only drew his hand back, trailing his fingertips back down the length of her thigh. Aelin fought the sigh in her throat, stamping her teeth down on her bottom lip at the loss. 

It hadn’t taken Rowan long at all to learn his way around her body. It was something she both loved and hated, the game they played in his bed of teasing and taunting. She hadn’t experienced it like this before, Arobynn had been a lazy lover, seeking his own pleasure before rolling over and promptly falling asleep. 

Rowan had taken her breath away. Pounding into her relentlessly, his fingers gripping her hips hard enough to bruise, his other hand clamped across her mouth, holding in the cries she knew would give the game away to their roommates. 

He was tender afterwards, pressing kisses down the length of her spine as she lay sleepy and sated in his bed. He would stroke his broad hands down the curve of her waist as she came down from her high, whispering sweet nothings into her skin. 

Aelin loved it. 

“Morning,” Lysandra’s voice sounded from behind her, and Aelin managed a welcoming smile as her friend took a seat on the spare stool on her other side, her cousin and Rowan offering their own greetings. 

Lysandra dropped a knowing glance to Aelin’s lap, where Rowan’s hand was now barely visible beneath the hem of her baby blue nightgown and Aelin fought the blush that threatened at her friend’s smirk. And the matching one she knew Rowan wore. 

It was yet another new side to Rowan she had discovered, the smug side that owned the purely male smiles he wore, dripping in pride at the way she moaned his name, at the way she lay breathless after he had used his fingers and tongue to bring her to her release.

It hadn’t even been half an hour since they had finally left his bedroom in search of food and Aelin was ready to abandon their mission. 

“It can’t be that hard,” Rowan said, sounding completely composed as Aelin twisted her hips closer to his hand. He pinched the skin of her inner thigh in response, only hard enough to make her squirm. 

“Where did you get that from?” He motioned to the length of pipe clutched in Aedion’s hand. At his shrug Rowan shook his head and continued, “Did you loosen the valve?”

Aedion’s scoff was almost enough to drag Aelin out of her haze. “Do I look like I know what that is? Can you just come and fix it?”

Rowan looked back towards her, eyes shining with regret and a promise for later as he withdrew his hand and stood to approach the sink Aedion had yet to begin mending. 

Aelin missed the pressure of his skin against her own but couldn’t say she wasn’t grateful for the clarity in her mind. 

“Good morning?” Lysandra asked with an arch of a dark brow.

“I’ve had worse,” Aelin shrugged, tossing her golden hair over a shoulder as she clawed back any shreds of composure she normally possessed. 

Lysandra was the only person Aelin had fully confessed the progression in herself and Rowan’s relationship to, needing to speak it aloud to someone in the excitement that had followed their date. Her friend had indulged her,  _ ooh _ ing and  _ aah _ ing at all the right moments in her story. Aelin knew her relationship with Rowan was different than it had been before, but she didn’t feel it needed a big announcement to their friends.

Lysandra’s smirk remained as she turned to look over towards where the two blond males stood crouched over the still leaking sink. Aelin allowed herself the luxury of taking in the sight of Rowan in a tight fitting cotton t-shirt, the tanned curves of his biceps, the left covered in striking whorls of ink. 

She watched the way his brow pulled into a frown and the way his teeth tugged at his lower lip in concentration as he tinkered with the tap. Her mind flashed with the image of the previous night when he had taken her lower lip between his teeth as he thrusted-

“You’re drooling,” Lysandra stage-whispered in her ear. 

Aelin snapped her mouth shut, subtly tapping a finger across the corner of her mouth, more than relieved to find it dry. “I could say the same for you.”

Lysandra cocked her head, “I have no shame in finding my boyfriend attractive.”

Aelin didn’t need to see herself to know her cheeks burned red but she was saved by the sound of Lorcan’s voice from the doorway behind her. 

“Don’t fucking make it worse,” He said as he brushed past where she sat with Lysandra to take the length of pipe out of Aedion’s hand, their tiny, midnight black kitten trotting at his heels. 

Aelin didn’t miss the grateful sigh that escaped her cousin as he scooped up the kitten and her dark-haired roommate took over the tinkering with their sink. 

“You shouldn't have touched it,” Lorcan snapped as he batted Aedion further away from the sink and sunk into a crouch before the counter, her cousin drifting over to stand against the bench next to Lysandra.

“Should be fixed in no time,” Rowan said with a nod to Lorcan as he reclaimed his seat next to her, quickly slipping his hand back onto her thigh. Aelin ignored the smile Lysandra flashed at her, her eyes no doubt tracking the motion. 

“Good morning,” Fenrys’ voice broke the easy silence that had fallen over the kitchen. “I hope to the gods one of you thought to make coffee.”

He stood out among the gathering in the kitchen, fully dressed in jeans and a shirt while the rest of the loft wore an array of pyjamas and sweats. Aelin could have believed he was freshly dressed for the day had one side of his golden curls not sat slightly deflated. 

It seemed her cousin shared her assessment, “Where have you just got back from? Busy night?”

Fenrys’ smile turned all too sweet as he glanced to where Aelin sat, filling a mug almost to the brim with coffee before taking a long sip. After a sigh, he said, “A gentleman never tells.”

A snort from Rowan at her side. “Shouldn’t stop you.”

“You normally love to brag about that shit,” Lorcan chimed in from his perch under the sink. 

“True,” Fenrys admitted with a grin before turning to Aelin. “You really missed a trick with Dorian, you know.”

Aelin grinned. “I’m devastated. Truly.”

Fenrys returned her smile as he slapped his palm against the one Aedion held outstretched at the comment. “I would recommend you give it a go, but I think he might be occupied from now on.”

Aelin opened her mouth, ready to express her happiness at what she knew was blooming between her friends but Lorcan beat her to it. 

“I don’t think she needs Havilliard, have none of you noticed her room has been empty for days?”

Rowan’s thumb stilled above her knee. 

“What?” Aedion’s eyes flicked to her own as he spoke. 

Lorcan rose from the floor, wiping his hands off against his baggy t-shirt, a shit-eating grin threatening at his lips. Aelin stared him down, and she knew Rowan was doing the same. 

He cocked his head at her, locks of his dark hair sliding forward over his shoulder. “I have the bedroom closest to their end of the loft, even so I’m surprised none of you have heard the noises coming from Whitethorn’s room.” 

He didn’t break eye contact as he revealed her little secret, but Aelin didn’t miss a beat. “If you like listening so much you’re always welcome to join.”

Lorcan shook his head, “I’m good. This loft doesn’t need to get anymore incestuous.”

“What?” Aelin asked, stumped for a moment. “Rowan and I…” She trailed off at the matching grins on each of her roommates’ faces. 

“What are we missing?” Lysandra asked, a smile dancing through her words even though she sounded as clueless as Aelin. 

Lorcan shifted his attention to her dark-haired friend. “You mean Aedion hasn’t told you how we all met?”

Aelin felt Rowan shaking silently at her side, still gripping her thigh as he reigned in his laughter. The touch had lost its teasing, but she still enjoyed his hands on her, nonetheless. 

Lysandra shook her head. 

“Let me set the scene,” Lorcan began with a grin before Fenrys stepped forward to interrupt. 

“You weren’t there, we had the misfortune of meeting you on Craigslist years later. You’ll get it wrong.”

Lorcan held a hand up in surrender. 

Fenrys continued the tale with a smirk, leaning forward against the island in front of Lysandra. “You know your boyfriend met Whitethorn at college.”

A nod from Lysandra. 

“Roommates for what?” Her cousin asked, looking at Rowan. “Ten years, nearly?”

“Unfortunately for me,” Rowan muttered but Aelin read the begrudging smile in his voice. 

“Now I met Aedion on the football team,” Fenrys told Lysandra, his tone wistful as he reminisced. “He was the year above me, the captain, and sexy as hell.”

Aelin let out a groan as Lorcan raised his brows at her with a nod. 

“All blond hair and blue eyes. Good genes Galathynius,” Fenrys continued with a nod to Aelin. “How was I to resist?”

“No,” Lysandra breathed, a shocked smile curling at the corners of her lips. 

“Yes,” Fenrys’ eyes were shining with glee as the realisation dawned. 

“They sexiled me for almost my entire senior year.” Rowan’s voice rumbled close to her year, filled with reluctant amusement. 

“Sorry, man,” Aedion said with a shrug. “Needs must, you know? But then he got far too annoying.” 

Fenrys flipped him off over his mug of coffee, his smile still standing strong. 

“It was the start of a beautiful friendship.” Fenrys’ eyes were twinkling with mischief and Aelin cackled with delight at Rowan’s sigh. 

“And then we met you.” His voice was soft at her side and as she looked to Rowan she knew her own expression was just as fond. 

\--

The autumn air of Rifthold had a bit of a bite to it, far cooler than the mild seasons back in Doranelle. In his time in Rifthold he had learned that the seasons were far starker here than back at home. 

Summer was clammy and close, spring was fresh and bright, winter; cold and harsh in his lungs, and then autumn. The dimming of the light and the closing in of the nights that were characteristic of a Rifthold autumn were a lifetime away from the year round bright sunshine of Doranelle.

Rowan had had to slip on a t-shirt beneath his usual flannel before leaving for his shift, and even now, deep within the heart of the bar he was glad for it. The cool breeze that drifted in each and every time the door swung open, letting patrons in and out, had him slinging prayers of thanks to his earlier self for the forethought. 

The breeze that followed his raven-haired roommate was brisk but Lorcan, as always, was unaffected, clad only in a thin grey t-shirt. 

Lorcan slumped into a stool at the bar with a nod, not needing to speak before Rowan had handed over a cool pint. His friend took a long gulp, downing almost half the glass before dropping it back to the bar and releasing a tired sigh. 

“I’m going to quit my job.”

Shit. 

“Why?” Rowan asked eventually, his tone wary.

Lorcan shrugged, the hand resting along the bar curling up into a loose fist. “A number of reasons.”

Rowan narrowed his eyes. The effort that went into getting Lorcan to open up was comparable to trying to get Fenrys to shut up. “Such as?”

His friend dragged the hand that rested on the bar through his hair, the sable strands drawing back before immediately falling down across his forehead again. A futile, frustrated gesture.

After a moment Lorcan spoke, “I’m not allowed to work under my girlfriend, and this new transfer is boring as fuck.” He took another moment, inhaling a deep breath and frowning. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s not what I expected when I first started, and I don’t think it ever will be.”

Rowan opened his mouth before closing it again, debating his best strategy, and he leaned forward to brace his hands on the bar in front of him. 

“Do you want to know what I think, or do you want to drown your sorrows in silence?”

Lorcan shot him a dark glare, but Rowan had been at this long enough to know it wasn’t just an unfounded stereotype of his job. He normally knew at a glance or a greeting whether patrons wanted conversation or not, he could read people pretty well after a few years in this gig, but his friend was far from an open book, and bluntness often worked best with Lorcan. 

At his silence Rowan spoke. “I think you should do what makes you happy.” 

Lorcan rolled his eyes but Rowan continued. “You know it’s what any of us would tell you.”

“I could have gone to either of the Ashryvers for that shit, seems like Galathynius has been rubbing off on you.”

Rowan ignored the comment, and the hidden innuendo, determined not to let his friend shrug this off. 

“And yet here you are.” Rowan mopped up a couple of drops of spilled beer off the bar top before he spoke again. “You’ve been seeing Elide for a while, been in the new department for a while, and it’s been fine. Why change now?” 

Lorcan twisted away, taking another long swig of his beer before shrugging his shoulders. Rowan could almost see his reluctance to speak in the tightness of his swallow, the tension running through his arms.

Lorcan sighed, a sharp release of breath through his nose, before turning back to face Rowan.

“You see how Aedion is, he actually gives a shit about what he does. I couldn’t care less about filing reports on petty theft and missing bikes. It made me think.”

Rowan shook his head, fighting a somewhat inappropriate smile. “First of all, Aedion is fucking weird, he thinks marketing is some life-altering necessity that makes the world turn around. Remember when he went crazy trying to sell sponges to men?” 

He paused to share a grin with Lorcan. “Secondly, I’m not convinced many people actually care that much about their jobs. I don’t.”

Lorcan finally twisted fully around to face him, his brows drawn in, and Rowan swallowed. 

“Bartending was supposed to be a temporary means to an end, I don’t think I’ve found my true calling, but it’s fine. I’m not sure everyone finds that niche that they love.”

His friend’s lips twisted to one side. “But shouldn’t we?”

Rowan waited, sensing his normally stoic friend had more he wanted to say, sensing there was more he  _ needed _ to say. 

“Aedion and Aelin they… They both come back to the loft everyday smiling and jabbering on about whatever they’ve achieved that day. It’s annoying as shit but-” He took another sharp breath, releasing it with an almost  _ grunt _ . “Shouldn’t we feel like that?”

He didn’t often hear Lorcan at such a loss, he normally stuck to sarcastic quips and snappish barbs and Rowan himself took a deep breath as he considered his response. 

Lorcan wasn’t  _ wrong _ , but he wasn’t sure he was right. His job was fine and that was enough. He enjoyed the day to day, made enough money to pay his rent and he got to see his friends while he was on shift. Was anything more necessary?

He took the coward’s way out. “What does Elide say?”

Lorcan saw through him but seemed to let it slide. “Same as you, that if it will make me happy I should do it.”

Rowan nodded. Elide, in the small number of times he had met her, had always carried an air of wisdom around her, a settled confidence in what she did and what she thought. A good match for his friend who could be somewhat challenging at times. 

“What will you do instead?”

Quitting his job was fine, but there had to be something else. Was there any point quitting his job only to land back in another mindless routine? Unless there was something else lined up.

“A friend of mine has a private security firm,” Lorcan shrugged his broad shoulders before finishing off his beer. “He’s asked me about joining before, whether I’d give up the force, and my answer has always been no.” 

_ Until now _ , Rowan filled in the gaps. 

“It pays pretty well too,” Lorcan’s voice had taken back an element of his usual dry humour. “Which I’ll need now that the bet about you and Aelin has been called off.”

Rowan flipped his friend off with a scowl, muttering an insult under his breath. 

“I was supposed to win five-hundred bucks,” Lorcan revealed, a dark smile brewing across his face now that the conversation was back to more familiar territory. 

“Pity.” Rowan snarked as he turned away to serve another customer, stewing on the things Lorcan had said. 

Even though he had grown to love the bar since starting a few years ago, surely there should have been some progression as he neared thirty. The role that had seemed to be a perfect fit at twenty-two, the flexibility it offered… it was a good choice at the time. Fresh out of university with no clear plan, the job had landed in his lap. He’d never had to challenge himself. 

Not like Malakai, who cared about his business and had poured so much of himself into curating something with an elegant charm out of the dingy dive bar it had been when he had bought it. 

The wooden panels of the bar were sleek and smooth after years of glasses and elbows and palms passing over them, the leather of the booths was softened and faded after years of use but it didn’t look shabby. It was a place of comfort and ease, but with a quiet kind of pride about it. 

But was it enough?

He returned to Lorcan, sliding another pint across the bar that his friend accepted with a nod. 

Rowan knew who he wanted to talk to about the thoughts running through his mind, he and Aelin had barely been dating for a week and he knew he wanted to share these thoughts with her. He wanted her advice and knew he would value any insight she could offer. 

Rowan knew she’d listen with an attentive ear, logically sifting through the jumbled thoughts in his brain and shaping them into something decipherable. Aelin was more than her beauty or her sense of humour, she was wickedly sharp and perceptive and smart. 

Lorcan raised a dark brow at the intensity of the sigh Rowan let out. 

“Anything  _ you’d  _ like to share with the class?”

“No,” Rowan’s answer was short. There was nothing he wanted to share with  _ Lorcan _ . 

His friend shrugged, unfazed at Rowan’s dismissal and he took another swig of his beer before speaking again. “Feels like a time for change, and not just me.”

Rowan cocked his head, it seemed as though Lorcan was in a talkative mood tonight.

“There’s you and Galathynius,” Rowan fought the thrill that ran through him at the mention of him and Aelin as a unit, as a  _ pair _ , as Lorcan continued. “And I think Aedion’s going to ask Lysandra to move in with him.”

This was news to Rowan. “In the loft, or somewhere else?”

Lorcan shook his head. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t be much different if she moved in with us.” 

Lorcan paused, seeming to mull over the possibilities as Rowan was doing. He and Aedion had lived together for so long Rowan supposed he took it for granted to always have his best friend in such close proximity. 

It made sense for it to one day reach an endpoint, Rowan just hadn’t expected it to feel so soon. 

He glanced back to Lorcan, his friend’s decision still lingering in his mind.

Rowan needed to make sure he wouldn’t be left behind. 

\-- 

Coming home to Rowan was a thought that always made Aelin smile. 

There was always a nervous flutter in her stomach as the elevator made it’s ascent towards the loft, the twisting and turning reaching a crescendo as the elevator doors opened, facing the hallway and the doorway that had led her to Rowan only a few months ago. 

Now however, she took the steps to her home, smiling at the knowledge that Rowan would be behind the door waiting for her to return. 

The elevator doors opened with a chime and Aelin stepped out into the hallway, hitching her bag higher on her shoulder as she made her way home. The hallway wasn’t long and the doors were thin enough that any sounds within the number of lofts on their floor were audible in the open space, usually muffled enough to offer moderate privacy unless the sounds from within the lofts were particularly loud. 

The raised voices from within loft 4D were loud enough to carry, but as Aelin slowed her steps towards the door no words were clearly defined. She lingered in the hallway, not wanting to intrude on whatever was going on behind the closed door. 

Abruptly, the argument stopped, and Aelin took a step further towards her own front door. She hadn’t yet made it down the length of the hall, her keys still tangled between her fingers, when the door swung open in front of her. 

Rowan’s face was carefully calm, but she could see the storm brewing in his eyes, and she could feel the frustration rolling off him in waves. The moment his eyes beheld her the tension leaked out of his body in a flood and a small smile worked its way onto his lips. His gaze softened as his eyes did a gentle sweep of her from head to toe. 

Aelin offered him a small smile in greeting. “Everything okay in there?” A nod to the door behind him.

Rowan seemed to shake himself, rolling his shoulders back as he reached her and wrapped his hands around her waist. Aelin relaxed into the touch, loving the feeling of his arms around her and tucking her face into his chest. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and she smiled as she pulled back to look up at him. 

She lifted a palm to cup his cheek as she repeated, “You okay?”

“Of course,” He ducked to press his lips to hers for a second, far too brief for Aelin’s liking. She slid the hand on his cheek to cup the back of his neck, holding him to her for a second longer. 

Aelin felt Rowan’s smile against her lips as he kissed her once more, his lips parting softly against her own. 

“I have to get to work,” He said, pulling back again and sounding far from pleased at the idea, his hands tightening at her waist. “Can we talk when I get back?”

“Sure,” She said slowly, concerned at his request so soon after overhearing an apparent argument between him and one of their other roommates. “Anything I should be worried about?”

Something flickered across Rowan’s face, almost too fast for her to catch, but he pressed his lips to hers one final time before drawing away. 

“No,” He said quickly, stepping past her to head to the elevator. “It’s all good, we’ll talk later. But I’ll see you in my bed when I get back?”

Aelin fought the lick of heat that bloomed within her at his words as her lips pulled up into a sultry smile. “I’ll see you there.”

Rowan shot her one last longing glance as he stepped into the lift and Aelin focused herself as she stepped into the loft. 

It was quiet now, no sign of the earlier argument that must have taken place close to the now-shut door. 

“Hello,” She called into the space, chucking her keys into a bowl on the cabinet by the door and hooking her bag over the coat rack. 

“In here, Ae.” 

Aedion’s voice sounded from around the corner and she stepped into the living room to see him sprawled across their couch. His defeated expression told her he had been the one she had overheard talking with Rowan and the wary look he gave her as he took her in all but confirmed it. 

“You heard that, huh?”

“Yep,” She said, throwing herself into the seat by his side and tucking her feet up beneath herself, resting her head against his arm. “Anything you want to talk about?”

He might not want to talk to her about it, knowing what she was to Rowan, but he was still her cousin and she cared for him. She wanted to make sure he knew he could talk to her. 

Aedion blew out a sigh, lifting his eyes to their ceiling. Aelin waited, knowing Aedion wasn’t the type to keep his feelings bottled up. 

“Do you know?” He asked at last, his voice carefully measured and Aelin felt her heart stutter. 

“Know what?” She said slowly, her heart restarting faster than it had been before.

Aedion winced as she sat up to look at him more directly, sensing she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. 

“Know what, Aedion?” She repeated, swallowing the uneasy feeling at whatever was to follow. 

“That he’s got a job in Doranelle.”


End file.
